Equilibrium
by Sulwyn Argall
Summary: If I was born to make a difference in this world, the universe definitely didn't get the memo. If I'm here to create an equilibrium, to balance fate...well, I guess we'll just have to see how much I can change before it comes back to bite me. It shouldn't be that hard, right? (Famous last words.) A SI[Self-Insert]/OC story.
1. Prologue-Reverberations

Ahem. Err...hi? I don't known if anyone is going to ever read this, but I figured I'd give it a shot anyways! I was inspired by the many, wonderful works of fanfiction on this site in regards to the Naruto universe, and decided to add my own work to the ever growing pool. This was specifically inspired by Silver Queen's "Dreaming of Sunshine", Lang Noi's "Catch Your Breath", Vixen Tail's "Déjà vu no Jutsu", and basically anything that black. k. kat writes. This is an SI/OC. I hope you enjoy the ride!

Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

Prologue-Reverberations

"Every decision that we make has significance. The tiniest choice that we make reverberates throughout the entire universe."-Anonymous

* * *

You know, whenever the concept of how she wanted to die came up, she tended to change the subject. First, the mere idea was morbid and horrifying, because, ' _who wants to die, damn it_?', but second, because dying scared her. She didn't want to just…just be gone, to exist no longer, to have nothing of her left behind in this world. She supposes that's probably the reason she always tried so damn hard to **do things** , to get involved in the world around her, not because she wanted to make a difference, but because she wanted some piece of her left behind even if she was no longer there.

* * *

 _At first, there is nothing. Just a numbness._ _Then, heat. Searing, horrifying heat that feels like its going to consume her from the inside out, its point of origin her chest, but the pain and fire quickly spreading to the rest of her._

* * *

So, this? The fact that she's currently in a hospital, hooked up to all manner of beeping and whining and wailing machines, and slowly drifting away? This definitely **was not** the way she wanted to go out.

* * *

 _Pain. Worse than anything she's ever felt in her life, and she both regrets and doesn't regret her decision. There was no other way, right? This was…it was for the best, really._

* * *

When she'd originally gotten the diagnosis, a year before she'd been about to take the next big step in her life, she hadn't believed them. There was no way the doctors could be right. There was no way she was…that she had…She didn't want to die! She wanted to live! She wanted to become a doctor, go into research, find someone to love, get married, raise a family…do so many things.

Things that she'd never get to do now, if the way her weak, weak, weak body was giving out was any indication.

* * *

 _Lightning, racing across her nerve endings. She can feel herself slipping away, but the pure shock and disbelief and terror, written across his face, keeps her conscious. She manages a trembling smile for him, trying for reassurance, always trying to keep him together and safe._

 _Always failing._

* * *

She supposes that the fact she managed to survive another year, against the odds, is a miracle on its own. She doesn't really care about that now, because the sounds of sobbing are penetrating the dark haze and the numbness, and she **fights,** **she struggles,** **refusing to go out just yet!** She pulls back long enough to offer up a trembling smile for her loved ones, for her family, the people she's…she's leaving behind.

They tried so hard to help her, to save her, to keep her alive, but in the end, there was nothing anyone could have done. But they stayed. They stayed, suffering along with her, even when she tried to get rid of them to spare them pain. Nothing worked, and now here she is, surrounded by them as she slips away.

* * *

" _I'm sorry." She murmurs, slumping forward against him, and he lets out a horrified, gasping breath. She is slipping again, feeling memories rushing past her, of the life she's lived and the people she loved. She's sorry she's leaving them behind, but this was the only way to protect them, to keep them safe. "Thank…you…" She chokes out, and she..._

 _is…_

 _gone._

 _Gone for only a moment before_ _ **other memories**_ _come rushing forward, subsuming her, erasing everything she is and ever was. Memories that make her scream and regret and ache, because_ _ **no! No, no, no!**_

 _How could she have known? They were buried, supposedly scrubbed away, but why must they come back now, as she floats in the void of some place in between? Is she meant to suffer for her decision? But…but_ _ **how could she have known, damn it?!**_

' _Please!' She begs the darkness, the void, the emptiness surrounding her and slowly wiping her away. 'Please, let me try again! Please, let me save them this time. Please…please…"_

 _There is a brief flicker of warmth in the dark, and she is surprised before she can suddenly feel nothing at all. She is once again gone, but in her place, is something…something different. Perhaps_ _ **someone**_ _different. Someone who can make a difference, who can change things in a world once thought to be static and trapped in its fate._

 _He only hopes._

* * *

But…even though she's fading away, she knows they loved her. She knows that they'll move on and keep living, living for her, because it's the only thing she wanted. So, if this is the way she's going to die…well, she supposes that there are worse ways to go.


	2. Intro Arc: Not Really an Ending

So, only posting a prologue didn't seem entirely fair, and I've been working on this monster (seriously, I have a lot of chapters just waiting for the light of day) for ages, and want to see what people think, so here is Chapter 1 as well! Let me know what you guys think, if anyone is reading this.

Edit: Because I am dumb, and this totally didn't occur to me, anything in italics is in Japanese, and thusly our main character cannot understand a word.

" _Words_ ,"-This is in Japanese.

As before, Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

Chapter 1-Intro Arc: Not Really an Ending

"Ends are not bad things, they just mean that something else is about to begin. And there are many things that don't really end, anyway, they just begin again in a new way. Ends are not bad and many ends aren't really an ending; some things are never-ending." - C. JoyBell C.

* * *

" _Yume-chan! Say, 'Daddy'_!" A distinctly male voice sang out, and I felt my small form being scooped out of the crib I'd taken up residence in only an hour before. A face came into my field of vision, one with olive skin, dark, spiky brown hair, a strong jawline, and a rugged looking, dark brown beard, as I was lifted up in a pair of solid arms. I immediately frowned at the man, and he pouted back at me.

" _Madoka! Our daughter hates me_!" He wailed, and I fought the urge to roll my eyes. I had no idea what the hell he was saying, but his tone made it obvious he was whining about something. Probably my lack of affection for him. Was this really what my life had come to? Oh, but I suppose I'm getting a bit ahead of myself here. Let's rewind here a moment.

Right, well, my current name is Yumeko. Sarutobi Yumeko. If my family name sounds familiar, then you might be getting an inkling of the story I'm going to be sharing with you. It might be a familiar tale to some, at least in regards to certain base details and people. In other regards, though…You'll just have to see what my presence ending up changing, and how the universe responded in kind.

I haven't always been Yumeko. Before that, before I died the first time, I was someone else. Who I was isn't all that important anymore, but let's just say that I was a giant nerd and interested in all manner of different media, manga rated highly among them. The world of _Naruto_ was one example, a favourite, so when I found myself reincarnated there, I considered that things could have been a lot worse. I mean, at least I had a general gist of what was going to happen, even if it meant that I was going to have to deal with the scheming of that asshat Black Zetsu.

And, I'm getting ahead of myself again, aren't I? Especially considering it took me a while to believe the whole reincarnation idea over 'coma dreams' or something else equally ludicrous.

" _Ichigo, what is it this time_?" A light, female voice called, sounding exasperatedly fond, and I saw a mostly lavender blur standing in the opening behind the man holding me. My new father. What a stupid concept. I already had a father…I had had a father. I'd died, and he was gone now. It's not something I liked to dwell on, even now, so we'll skip over it.

" _She's frowning again. She never does that when you and Mom hold her,_ " The man, Ichigo, said, and his pout grew more pronounced. I hesitated for a moment, and then reached out and tapped the corner of his lips with my little baby hands. He immediately switched to a bright grin, and I smiled gummily in response. My coordination wasn't all that great yet, but being able to move like this was better than what I'd experienced back when I was still in my new mother's womb.

I had assumed that dying would just be like ending. Suddenly, you're just not there anymore, and there's nothing to feel. I was to a certain extent religious before, but not enough that I had a real belief in some form of the afterlife. So, it was to my great surprise when there had been no void, but a dark, enclosed space that seemed warm and pulsing with life. I had still been able to feel, which was totally against what I'd been thinking, and it was with that insight that I'd also realized that my mind remained intact. I could still think, still remember, and still dwell on how this was not supposed to be happening, and I'D DIED, AND THIS ISN'T HOW THINGS WERE SUPPOSED TO GO, DAMN IT!

Suffice to say I'd spent a decent amount of time inwardly fuming when I didn't try to fidget around the enclosed space, mostly unsuccessfully. My movements had been restricted, and damn if that hadn't set off the inner ranting again. When those weren't on the agenda, I had tried to figure out what the weird thing I was feeling right under my skin was. It wasn't…itchy, exactly; it was more like the chilly feeling of goosebumps, except on the inside. It was kind of hard to explain at the time, though I now realize it was my developing chakra system.

" _Was she taking a nap when you came in and harassed her?_ " Madoka, the lavender blur, asked, coming forward and standing at Ichigo's shoulder. Her face was feminine and pretty. She had delicate features, high cheekbones and a nice smile that caused the corners of her grey eyes to crinkle. She cooed at me, and the movement of her lips drew my attention to a pale scar that bisected the right corner of them. This was my new mother, and I tended to like her better than my new father. For one thing, she didn't look anything like my old mother had. Ichigo had some resemblances to my old father, resemblances that usually made me depressed. Also, she was less loud and not as inclined to interrupt my nap time.

" _Uh…maybe_?" Ichigo responded, but he was still smiling at me as he drew me in and kissed my forehead. His beard scratched at my sensitive skin, and I immediately whined at him.

" _Honestly,_ " Madoka muttered, shaking her head, but I could see the amused smile on her face. She wrapped an arm around Ichigo's waist and the other went up to stroke my cheek as I tried to wriggle away from the beard. " _And Minato wonders why I don't let you help much_."

" _That's unfair, though! I helped take care of Asuma when he was a baby, so I've got plenty of experience,_ " Ichigo protested, and Madoka let out a little laugh.

I'll skip over my birth, because, ' _Eww, nope. Gross. Experiencing that once was enough, I'm not describing it._ '

I spent a decent amount of time in my first few months of new life just sleeping. I was really only aware of my surroundings so often, usually to experience the 'great joys' of being a baby again. I'd figured out the baby thing not too long after waking up again from that first nap (it had made much more sense than thinking I'd been shrunken), but I hadn't wanted to acknowledge it for a decent amount of time. I didn't exactly want to be a baby, because that meant I'd somehow been reincarnated (because I most definitely remember dying), and I didn't want to think of that as a possibility. I know better now of course, but at the time it was just such an alien idea that I didn't even want to deal with it.

Of course, reincarnation wasn't the only thing I attempted to lie to myself about. All the helpless baby stuff was mortifying for a 22-year-old adult (in mind, at least). I would like to say that I've blocked most of it out on purpose, but I'm not quite so sure that holds up. I feel like it all might have just started to blur together after a certain point, as the boredom and lack of intellectual stimulation began to get to me. I have a couple of things that stick out, certain memories that I cherish now as some of the only time I could spend with my Grandmother, even though I can't talk about them with anyone. Being able to remember things before I was even a year old would freak out most anybody I told, regardless of how accustomed to me and my quirks they may be. I'm getting ahead of myself again, though.

" _And yet_." Madoka's tone was wry, and she finally took me from Ichigo. At last, freedom! Stupid beard. Stupid, sensitive baby skin. I immediately snuggled happily into her soft warmth, and Ichigo made a sound of protest at my sudden about-face. She smelled like lavender and sugary baked goods, and the scent was calming.

" _How do you even do that?_ " Ichigo asked, sounding fascinated as he hovered over me. I looked over at him with one eye for a moment before I went back to ignoring him. Madoka was warm, and I was still sleepy.

" _What, let her sleep? It's easy, I don't burst into her room and make her grumpy. She's pretty smart, she always remembers when_ _ **someone**_ _harasses her._ " New mom's voice was soothing, and I started drifting off.

" _No, I meant get her to like you so fast. She always gets so huffy with me, and I can't figure out why,_ " Ichigo said.

" _Maybe she's just not used to you? She's only three months old, Ichigo, and you do tend to be out of the village a lot._ _She sees Mother and I almost constantly,_ " Madoka soothed, and I grumbled quietly into her clothes. Would they just put me down and let me get to sleep already?

" _Well, once the promotion goes through, watch out Yume-chan! It'll be 'Father-Daughter Bonding Time' all day, every day,_ " Ichigo whispered, and there was another scratchy kiss on my head. I had a sudden feeling of foreboding, but decided to let out only a token sigh, muffled into Madoka's chest. Then, movement, as I was set down into the crib and tucked in again. I immediately rolled over and snuggled my stuffed monkey as new Mother and new Father wandered out of the room.

" _And once again, Minato's judgement worries me. You, as ANBU General? You're going to complain about the paperwork constantly, and I_ _ **will**_ _laugh at you._ " I caught another sound of protest from Ichigo, and let out an annoyed cry to get them to leave me alone already, damn it! I was a baby, if I didn't nap I got cranky! There was a muffled laugh, and then I heard a door slide shut, and was left in blissful silence so I could finally get some sleep.

* * *

And the feeling of foreboding was later confirmed, as several nighttime naps later, I was subjected to almost constant harassment by Ichigo. I eventually got over it, because I had become big enough to ride around on his shoulders, and so we travelled through the house and central garden with gusto. Grandmother watched with a careful eye, but mostly left us to it, unless we bothered her gardening. Her gardening time was sacred, as I learned after new Father got stomped on by an angry old lady who'd only just finished planting tulips before we stampeded on them. And by we, I mean Ichigo. I was an innocent baby, and could not be blamed for the actions of my pony.

Grandmother and new Mother were probably my two favourite people in this new family, followed at a slight distance by new Father. They'd taken care of me during the worst of the baby times, and I'd grown to love them. Being so utterly helpless, and relying on these two people for everything, it had been bound to happen. None of them could replace the family I'd lost, but…I guess they weren't so bad.

* * *

There were a couple of important milestones in those first few months of life, including the first time I could manipulate the energy coursing through my tiny, baby body. I'd been aware of it since the original goosebumps sensation, and it had remained as this ever-present warmth coursing through me, like how I imagined blood would feel moving through the body if one was aware of it. It was thick and warm and sluggish at times, rather like how I imagined a slow-moving stream of lava might be. It didn't burn though, instead offering the sort of comforting warmth a glass of warm cocoa might provide when drank on a cold day spent indoors. The warm energy was my constant companion in those first few months of life, and whilst I attempted to push and prod at it with my mind to try and figure out what it was, I'd failed up until that moment.

I hadn't been doing anything particularly special, just batting around this wooden block that had been left in my crib, with other things, to amuse me should I wake up from a nap and no one was around. Mother and Father, whilst usually around, did tend to disappear for a couple of nighttime naps in a row. It only happened a couple of times, that I could remember. I had trouble counting my days after a certain point, so I'd just gone by number of naps that had passed. Grandma was around a lot, but I was pretty sure she was retired and lived at our house specifically to take care of me. I hadn't met Grandfather at that point, as he'd been busy dealing with the transition from one Hokage to another and the ending of the Third Shinobi World War, though I only learned that much later.

Anyways, I'd been batting around the wooden block, trying to push at the energy in my body and hold it in one place to see what would happen, when I must have done something right. One second, I was passing the block to my other hand, and the next thing I knew it was stuck when I tried to push it back. It didn't last long, as in my surprise I let go of the energy I'd been holding in my left hand, and the block had thumped back down on the bed. I'd stared at my tiny hand, eyes wide, and decided to repeat the experience with the other hand. I'd gathered up the energy, held it steady in my right hand, and picked up the block. Trying to let it go, it remained stuck, and I let out a triumphant baby giggle. ' _This is weird, but also awesome, because I've always kind of wanted super powers._ '

Apparently, Grandmother had super hearing (it was a ninja thing, something I learned in the years to come), as she'd come in to investigate, and all further experiments with the energy were left off for the day. I hadn't known what was happening at the time, having not drawn the right conclusions as to my existence in the _Naruto_ world, so I'd decided not to freak out this new family with the idea of their baby being some kind of mutant.

I have a couple more memories of things that happened as the months passed, like the time my first tooth came in (and damn had that hurt), the first time I could eat solid food, the first time I could organize my baby sounds into something approaching words, and so on. Mother and Father had been fairly happy when I'd done the words thing, as it was maybe only six months in, and I was starting to make some sense. Of course, they weren't aware that I was a baby in body only, but it's the thought that counts? From that point onwards, Mother seemed to take an active interest in reading to me from books and trying to teach me about the world around us. I couldn't say I was ever really bored in the beginning, not with Ichigo, Madoka and Grandmother almost always around.

It was around that time that I met Grandfather for the first time. He used to say that he'd always catch me sleeping when he managed to come and visit the compound before that moment, which I can kind of see happening. Like I said, I slept a lot.

He had shown up at around the time Mother usually started my lessons for the day, lessons which originally involved picture books and playing matching games with objects and what I now know were kanji flash cards. I had always been good at memorizing things, so while I didn't always know what the symbols meant, I could remember what I'd last associated them with and extrapolate from there. I know now that I was demonstrating some rather prodigious intelligence for a six-month old kid, but at the time it hadn't occurred to me. I mean, I hadn't had much experience with babies in my first life, so average ages for baby milestones weren't a thing I was aware of.

Anyways, Grandfather had shown up and just observed Mother and me for a while. She hadn't acknowledged his presence when he'd shown up, though I'd felt him. I was starting to be able to sense energy signatures at that age, and associate them with the correct people (Mother felt like soft soil, Father like a warm summer breeze, and Grandmother like a calm wind), so this strange presence had thrown me for a loop for a bit. I hadn't been introduced to anyone else before.

"Yume-chan, _pay attention_ ," Mother scolded me, and my gaze swept from the oddly familiar old man in the doorway, with the energy like a roaring hearth fire, back to the objects and cards she'd laid in front of me. They were, in order, a rubber kunai, an orange, a pretty red ribbon, and my silvery stuffed monkey. I flicked my eyes over the cards, and frowned when I noticed a new card that Mother hadn't used before. I didn't know what the symbol meant, but all the other cards matched with some aspect of the items currently laid out, based on prior experience. I matched them up quickly, and tried to hand the fifth card back to her.

"No," I said, pouting at the attempt to trick me. I only knew a couple of words in this new language, which I could be excused for since I had only started learning it a few months ago, but I was going to use them to the best of my ability. It wasn't my fault Japanese wasn't my first language, or even second or third!

" _Good job_ , Yume-chan!" Mother cooed, smiling, and pulled me into her lap for a hug. I went willingly, my chubby baby hands reaching out and patting her face with a giggle. She'd pulled her long, black hair into a simple knot at the top of her head, and it had upset me when I'd first seen it. Usually she had her hair down or in a braid, and I got to play with it. It was pretty and soft, and just because I had an adult mind didn't mean I couldn't appreciate pretty hair when I had the chance. The old man chuckled at my reaction, and moved further into the room. My eyes tracked his movement and I frowned at him, still unsure what he was doing here.

" _Hello, Father. I thought you were going to be busy helping Minato with Hokage business all day?_ " Madoka said, and I started in surprise at the two familiar words. I think I'd heard her mention a Minato before, but Hokage was a new word. As I stared up at the increasingly familiar face of the old man, a feeling of dread began to fill me. ' _There's no way…_ '

" _I was, but then Jiraiya-kun showed up and distracted him with this new book he's working on, so I left them to it,_ " The old man replied, sounding amused, and then he crouched down in front of us. Mother attempted to hand me over to him, but I threw my arms around her neck and clung tightly. ' _Reincarnation was crazy, and I was starting to accept it, but the_ _ **Naruto**_ _ **universe? Really?!**_ _I don't care about the damn precedent already set here with Indra and Asura and their nonsense, this is just insane!_ '

"No. Mother," I mumbled into her neck, trying to buy myself a bit more time to process this sudden revelation. I mean, there wasn't an excess amount of evidence. I had yet to see anyone in my family running around in the standard Konoha uniform (which I later realized was because our family wasn't exactly in the standard forces), and while I now realized that Grandmother reminded me of the few times I'd seen Biwako Sarutobi in the manga, that hadn't exactly been enough to jump to any conclusions. I mean, yeah, we had those weird rubber kunai lying around, but I mostly just teethed on those! Although, I suppose that the energy I'd been manipulating till now was probably chakra, and that was why I could sense it in other people. Well, at least I knew my powers weren't unique to me.

" _I'm sorry, she usually only does this with Ichigo,_ " Mother said, and Hiruzen let out a laugh.

" _Yes, he's told me. Many times, now. He's got Minato complaining to me about it too, so I decided a visit might be in order,_ " The old man said (Hiruzen Sarutobi was my grandfather?!), and in response Mother detached my hands from around her neck, setting me properly in her lap so I was facing him. He smiled at me gently, and reached into his robes (He's not in Hokage robes though, so that means Minato is in charge, and GOD I AM SO SCREWED) and pulled out a wrapped box. He proffered it to me, the same gentle smile on his face, and I continued to frown at him.

"Open," I ordered, pointing at him to draw out more time, and he let out another laugh. I was definitely in the same era that Naruto had been born in, based on Hiruzen's apparent age, the mention of 'Minato' and 'Hokage' in the same sentence, and the lack of Hokage robes, so I was going to need to start laying plans in place. There hadn't been any attack from the Kyuubi yet, so Naruto couldn't have been born. It was unlikely I could prevent Minato and Kushina's deaths and the Kyuubi attack, so what could I manage to do after that?

There was no way I could go along with a civilian life, not if I was the Sandaime Hokage's granddaughter, and I didn't really want to. Konoha, in the years to come, was not going to be a safe place to be a civilian. There was Orochimaru's invasion of course, but also Pain's attack, followed by the Fourth Shinobi World War. If I was going to stand half a chance at surviving past the age of twelve, I needed to get as strong as I possibly could in the coming years. But, I mean…there wasn't that much evidence that I was in the _Naruto_ world. Maybe I should just…wait and see?

Hiruzen easily opened the wrapping and revealed within a box, with a fabulous picture on the front of what looked like a picture of Konoha. The buildings seemed to be spread out haphazardly, all of them several stories tall, and with tiled roofs of varying colours. Most of the spaces in between them were taken up by the leaves of massive trees, obviously the reason Konohagakure had its name. In the background, framing the buildings and the many, many trees, was the Hokage monument, with four faces carved into it. There was a larger, tower-like complex right below the faces, and the sky was a mere blip against the backdrop of the mountain. As I got a better look at it, I recognized the number 70 emblazoned across the bottom, and found myself frowning.

Hiruzen opened the box, revealing a smorgasbord of puzzle pieces, and dumped them out in front of us. I immediately slumped, because God did I hate puzzles, but crawled off Mother's lap and set to trying to organize them anyways. If this was some kind of test, I was going to ace it, damn it! I could guess why he was giving me the thing, if I'd been acting like a little ninja prodigy up until now. I had no idea how old I was, but I figured it was too early for most of the mental stuff I'd been pulling off till now anyways. But I'd been bored, okay? He was probably delighted that his granddaughter might be some genius, though, and was trying to encourage it.

" _Well, that was quick,_ " Mother said, sounding amused, as I immediately grabbed the corner pieces and set to work from there. Everyone knew that corner pieces were the lifesavers for any kind of puzzle. Trying to start from the middle was just dumb.

" _Has she tried anything like this before?_ " Hiruzen asked, as I started sorting the puzzle pieces and laying them out flat before me. It would be easier to match things up if I could see everything.

" _No, but look how cute she looks when she's concentrating,_ " Mother cooed. They left me to it for a couple of minutes, talking over my head and throwing around more words I didn't know as I worked. I wasn't sure how long it finally took, maybe fifteen minutes, but when I had completed the thing I sat back with a smile. Most of the pieces had been rather small, and overall the picture was maybe twenty centimeters long, but put together it looked nice.

Hiruzen and Mother were still talking, so I went back to plotting. I didn't want to accept the possibility that I'd been reincarnated into a fictional universe, not with so little evidence to back it up. Even if I had been I had to wonder, how much was I going to be able to accomplish in regards to the plot in the years to come, especially with Black Zetsu interfering? The likelihood I could do something about the Uchiha Massacre was slim, as facing off against both Itachi AND Obito was just a bad idea. There wasn't anything I could think of doing beforehand, to maybe prevent the coup in the first place. If I'd been born into the Uchiha clan, or perhaps if I'd been born just a few years prior to this, I might have been able to try and improve the clan's image in the village. Had I ever even heard mention of an Uchiha clan though? Maybe I was just jumping to conclusions, based on the few things that matched up.

If it was true, I was going to do my best to befriend Naruto. He didn't deserve to be treated like a pariah, and while people would eventually grow to respect him, I didn't want him to suffer through the years they didn't. That, and maybe try something to prevent the Hyuuga Affair. I'd always liked Neji, and if his father could just survive, I was sure that he'd end up being less of a prick. I mean sure, that had eventually resolved itself with a beat down from Naruto, but not before he'd almost killed Hinata. She didn't deserve to be treated like trash by her cousin, and he didn't deserve the Main Branch treating him like trash for existing, so I was going to try and fix that.

I could also probably start considering what specializations would be most useful for the future. I mean, Sakura would have medical ninjutsu covered, but more medics would never hurt. Besides, I'd been studying to be a doctor before…things, and I'd been about to start med school. I had a head start on those sorts of things.

All of this was contingent on me spending some time to find more evidence that the conclusions I'd drawn were accurate. I wasn't sure what exactly that entailed, but maybe I could see about convincing my parents to take me to the park or something? The Hokage monument on the mountain surrounding Konoha could be added evidence, once I'd seen it in person. A picture on a jigsaw puzzle wasn't enough. Plus, if we came across any active duty shinobi, their hitai-ate would also confirm where I'd ended up. Of course, this could all just be some very elaborate coma dream, which I still haven't decided if I like better than the reincarnation idea.

Something of a plan in place, I decided an interruption was in order.

"Done!" I proclaimed. "Thank you, Grandfather." He and Mother exchanged a significant look, which left me frowning slightly, before both started making congratulatory noises at me. I preened for a moment, and then a sobering thought suddenly hit me. Father was definitely not Asuma, which meant he was the older brother that the manga had never mentioned. Which meant, should my theory in regards to where I'd ended up be true, that he and Mother were Konohamaru's parents. If I was here though, where did that leave Konohamaru?


	3. Intro Arc: Choices Make Us

OK, so, wow! I really wasn't expecting such a great response already, and it makes me so happy that you guys seem to like my writing! :D

Since we have ten favourites already since I posted on Thursday, I thought I'd post the second chapter. It seemed like a good way to thank everyone who has been reading, following and favouriting. You guys are all wonderful, and thank you so much for your support.

As a note, I have made some stylistic edits to the prologue, so I'll be updating that as well. Anyways, thanks again for reading, and I hope you all enjoy the chapter. :)

" _Words,"-_ This is in Japanese, and thus our main character cannot understand.

Naruto, as always, belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

Chapter 2-Intro Arc: Choices Make Us

"We all make choices, but in the end our choices make us."- Ken Levine

* * *

The question of Konohamaru would bother me in the years to come. Most of the time though, I found myself too busy to really deal with it. I mean, he wasn't exactly vital to the plot line in terms of the major arcs, but he was one of Naruto's important people and he'd end up as the sensei to Naruto's son. I didn't want to be the one responsible for kicking him out of existence.

 **Many** nighttime naps after I'd first met Grandfather though, Konohamaru's possible removal from existence wasn't my biggest concern. I was just starting to figure out how to walk, and I could manage it if someone was holding onto my hands, or if I was clutching onto furniture, but not on my own yet. It frustrated me, because the instant I could become more mobile it meant that I could start exploring the village and attempting to establish myself properly in the timeline. Moreover, establishing if I was actually in the _Naruto_ universe or not.

"Yume-chan, _slow down_ ," Mother scolded lightly, and I paused. I looked up at where she stood, dressed in her casual kimono and an apron, from the couch. I'd taken up residence in the living room an hour ago, and had been absentmindedly doodling with a crayon on a scrap of paper. She had an amused smile on her face as she gestured down at my drawing, and when I glanced down I noticed that I'd managed to basically cover the page in orange. Oops. Guess that was what I got for not paying attention to my scribbling.

"Bored," I said, putting the crayon down, sitting up and holding my hands out to her in the universal gesture to be picked up. I'd picked up that word about a week ago, and had begun gleefully using it to harass Mother and Grandmother into reading me more story books. A couple of them dealt with the (highly censored) founding of Konoha, some others dealt with the life of a shinobi, and a one of them dealt with the myth of the Sage of Six Paths. I was carefully tucking them away under the 'additional evidence' column I was keeping track of in regards to my reincarnation theory.

She obliged me, lifting me so that I could wrap my little arms around her neck and press my face into her shoulder. Today she smelled like lilacs, cotton, and the faintest hint of what I would come to know was weapon polish. Her comforting scent was always soothing for my overactive brain.

" _Let's go_ help Grandma _garden_ _then_ ," She said, and I nodded into her soft kimono. I knew more words now, enough to begin to make out slightly more of what the adults around me were saying. Plus, I'd been able to explore more of the house without my tagalong pony, and discovered we were living in the main house of the Sarutobi Clan compound. I figured it was because Grandfather was the Head of the clan, and that Father was probably the clan heir. Which made me the next clan heiress, whenever Grandfather decided to step down. Or did that position go to Asuma, since he was Father's brother? I wasn't 100% sure when it came to Japanese customs for such things.

Mother ended up carrying me out to the garden in the front of the house, and Grandmother was more than happy to have me help her out. Mother went back to resume cooking lunch, and I spent a pleasant hour or two making a mess in the garden. What? Just because I was an adult in mind didn't mean I couldn't enjoy the benefits of being a kid again. One of which was the opportunity to mess around with plants and dirt with only minimal scolding.

These were some of my favourite memories of Grandmother, when she just let me act like a child with her. I always wondered what she thought of me, this genius grandchild she'd just suddenly been saddled with. I mean, I figured she loved me, but I never really got the chance to know. If there is one thing I have come to regret over the years, it's not doing something to prevent her death.

* * *

More time passed, and I could walk around mostly without assistance. I was still a baby, though, and as much as I might have started to consciously use my chakra to make moving around easier, I still got tired out easily. I could maybe manage a minute or two of walking before I had to sit down, or fall on my face. However, this enabled me to start exploring the rest of the compound, and I got to discover Grandfather's office. He seemed surprised to see me, but we spent an hour randomly doodling on some of his papers before Grandmother discovered us and shooed me away.

Our house was fairly large, and styled like most traditional Japanese houses in that the walls were made of rice paper and shiny wooden panelling, we had numerous numbers of sliding shouji doors, the floors were made of glossy hardwood and ran everywhere, and most of the furniture was traditional too. I think only my nursery, the kitchen and the main sitting room had modern furniture, as every other room I'd been in had cushions and low tables and futons and a startling lack of comfy chairs. The house was also only one level, though I thought I'd seen a few trapdoors which I figured must lead to a cellar of some kind. ' _Or a dungeon_. _That would be cool to explore later._ '

We also had another garden in the centre of the compound, surrounded by an elevated wooden deck on all sides. There was a pretty plum tree on a central island, with the moat running around it filled with various colours of koi fish. There were stones set in a path that led to the little bridge that crossed the moat, all of which led to a white, wooden bench set beneath the plum tree. From what I'd managed to understand when Grandmother had explained it to me, she said that the tree had bloomed on the day that Grandfather had asked her to marry him, on the day Father had asked Mother to marry him, and the day I was born. Apparently, people in my family liked having anniversaries in the middle of winter.

Also, apparently, Father had wanted to call me Umeko because of that tree, and Mother had outvoted him on the basis that she was the one who'd carried me around for nine months and gone through the painful process of birthing me. Father could pick a kid's name when he had to give birth to them. Even with the little experience I had with them, that sounded like an argument they would have, and was just one of many reasons I adored Mother. Even high on pregnancy hormones and exhausted after giving birth, she was still the one who wore the pants in this family (much like how things worked in my original family. It was moments like those that left me feeling comforted, nostalgic and sad).

It was around this time when I finally managed to convince myself that I really had ended up in the _Naruto_ universe. The last bit of evidence? It seemed that I'd accidentally wandered onto the clan's training grounds in the back of the compound, and when I'd seen several adults flinging around fire and wind and earth like it was an entirely normal thing to do, I'd given in. Several of them had recognized the baby on the edge of their training field and immediately stopped their ninjutsu practice to escort me back home, but the damage had been done. Where else would magical bullshit like this be acceptable and match up with everything else I knew?

After Mother heavily scolded Father and I, him for letting me wander away when he was supposed to be watching me, and me for wandering into a dangerous area without supervision, time seemed to flash by. As it did, my concerns in regards to my position in the timeline were starting to mount. ' _OK, Naruto was born on October 10_ _th_ _. That means that, if nothing has happened so far, I must have been born in January or February._ 'If I was born in February, then something needed to happen soon, because I was pretty sure it had been nine months. I'd never really been able to keep track of the days, but we had a calendar in the kitchen, so I'd been using the flipping of its pages to mark some time passing. I still couldn't read the symbols on that one though, and nobody crossed out days as they passed, so I'd been stumped.

Plus, I still hadn't gotten the opportunity to explore outside of the compound. Mother and Father were adamant about keeping me in the house for as long as possible (which I later discovered was because they didn't want anybody to know about how quickly I'd been progressing). However, I was growing bored with the same walls and rooms all the time, and the same people. It was always just me, Father, Mother, Grandmother, Grandfather and the occasional assorted Sarutobi clan members. They didn't usually spend a lot of time in the Main House, though I didn't know why. Nobody else ever came to visit, or if they had, I'd probably been asleep. I still slept a decent chunk of the day away, though not as much as I once had.

I was starting to be able to feel the lingering effects of people's chakras if they'd been in an area for a decent amount of time, though. Thus, I could tell when we'd had guests while I was napping, and what areas of the house they'd spent the most time in. All our clan members that I'd met felt like some assortment of fire and wind, probably because those were the most common affinities in the clan, but there were two other people that visited a lot. One of them felt like a cool breeze and only ever seemed to be in specific places, as in, there was no connection between the areas I found the chakra in. It was like they just jumped from spot to spot at random. I'd found the signature hovering in my room one time, like they'd spent a lot of time there while I was sleeping or something, and it had kind of freaked me out.

The other one was…weird, to put it lightly. Mostly, the chakra felt like a refreshing, gusty summer rain, just the thing needed during the middle of a heat wave. It had tinges of something else though, something dark and malevolent and festering, that blazed like a burn or an infected wound. I didn't like the second half of this signature, and I tended to avoid the places it had been when I found it in the house. I would only later realize who these signatures belonged to, too late to do anything about it. Always too late.

My range wasn't all that great, though, as I could maybe track Father's chakra signature about 10 meters from the house before I lost it. He had started going off to work every day again, but I still hadn't figured out what exactly he did. He was probably a ninja of some sort, but he never wore his uniform at home so I couldn't be sure. I figured my sensing range was large for my age, but the only reason I was so highly attuned to chakra was because of how utterly foreign it was to me.

I couldn't help but notice chakra around me. If I had to compare it to anything, it would be like suddenly becoming aware that you needed to breathe or blink. It was suddenly the only thing you could think about, and you had to focus on it. Yet, in those cases, you eventually got distracted by something else and your brain took over managing them again. For me, though, sensing chakra couldn't be turned off, couldn't be switched to an involuntary function. If it was there, I **had** to pay attention to it.

At least I knew messing with natural chakra was a bad idea, so I mostly just tried to ignore the ambient chakra in the world around me. It all felt the same, like a gentle warmth permeating everything, the air, the water, even the plants themselves, so while it took a while after every time I woke up to assign it to background noise, I could move on. However, specific chakra signatures were more difficult to ignore, specifically because they were all so different. I was working on it, though.

Yet, my sensing range didn't need to be all that great for what was coming.

* * *

It happened while I was sleeping, having been put to bed a couple of hours before. I didn't normally have trouble sleeping through the night, something that was totally different to my first life, but something had me suddenly jerking awake with a freaked-out wail. I was usually good about stopping typical baby reactions in their tracks, but whatever had set me off was shutting down my normal control. It was dark and oppressive and horrible, and frighteningly familiar. ' _Is that…_ '

Mother yanked my door open and burst through it, dressed, for the first time I'd seen, in what I would consider a standard ninja outfit, the Konoha hitai-ate in place across her forehead. Her clothes were all black, and she had a white breastplate as well as white forearm and shin guards strapped on. She also had what looked like some kind of short sword strapped at her back, its hilt pointing out at her left. Her hair was pulled into a messy ponytail though, and I had to wonder how much warning she'd had if she'd managed to get into what I assumed was a uniform, but ignore the hair she normally loved so much.

Mother scooped my still wailing form into her arms, and I felt the oppressive chakra in the air suddenly intensify, as if it had just gotten closer. Mother was clutching me tightly to her form, and the next second we were on the roof of the compound. I heard and sensed Father land beside us, and then we were all moving again. Based on the flickers of their chakra, they must have been using Shunshin to move us quickly toward…something. Maybe they were going to drop me off at a shelter and then hightail it back to fight the Kyuubi? Its release was the only explanation I could come up with for the horrible chakra filling the air, and for why I found it familiar. I must have been sensing Kushina all those weeks ago, probably visiting Grandmother for check-ups.

The thought of her sent waves of guilt running through me. ' _Oh, god, she must be dead by now_.' I felt tears pricking at the corners of my eyes, and my scared wails transformed into sad whimpers. I was…I was responsible for her death, in a way. I was responsible for the deaths of all the people who'd be caught in the Kyuubi's rampage. I mean, I was only a baby, but I'd gathered enough of a grasp of the language that I could have communicated a warning of some kind. It's not like I didn't have the ear of a Hokage, even if Grandfather wasn't the current one. Whether my warnings would have been believed or not was a question I wouldn't have an answer to anymore, but maybe they might have still made a difference.

"Madoka, take Yumeko to Asuma. _He's with the_ otheryoungshinobi _, and he'll be able to_ protect _her_ better _than the shelters might,_ " Father suddenly said, as we paused on another rooftop. Mother shifted me slightly so I was leaning against her shoulder and could see what was happening. Back the way we'd came was a massive being of malevolent chakra and orange fur and nine, waving tails. I couldn't see its eyes from here, but the look of pure hatred on its furry face had me freaking out even more. I could see explosions happening in the distance, and the roars of the beast as it utterly decimated the portion of the village it currently stood in. I whimpered, frozen with fear, tears still pouring down my face.

" _Damn it_ , Ichigo, _I'm not letting you_ go back _there_ alone _! That's the_ Kyuubi _! You don't stand a chance against it without someone there to watch your back!_ " Mother shouted at him, and he moved over to wrap us both in his arms.

" _You know I need to get out there and manage the ANBU forces._ It's bad _enough_ Minato _left us in charge of_ the village _instead of guarding him, but the ANBU General can't just let_ the village _get destroyed on his watch. I can link up with_ my father _and the rest of our forces, but_ Yume-chan _needs to be_ safe _first. You're faster than I am, you need to take her,_ " He said, and pulled away. I felt a wet spot hit the back of my onesie, and if I could look away from the fox in the distance I might have seen Mother crying. As it was, she just kind of snarled something, and suddenly leaned forward slightly.

" _You_ be careful _. Don't you dare die on me_ ," Mother threatened him after she pulled back, and if she sounded choked up neither Father nor I were going to point it out. The next thing I knew, we were bouncing from tree to tree, and Father's signature had left my sensing range. I tried to concentrate on Mother's chakra to calm me down, but the overwhelming levels of the Kyuubi's malevolence prevented me from paying attention to it for long enough to really try. She shifted me again, so I was tucked more firmly against her shoulder, and I hid my wet face in it.

When we finally stopped, it was to the sounds of what I thought was an argument dying down. We were further away from the beast now, and while its oppressive chakra was still present, it was a bit more diluted. I managed to shift in Mother's arms and turn my head slightly to see where we were. I jerked in surprise at the sudden deluge of familiar faces, albeit much younger than I remembered seeing them. Mother was arguing with another shinobi over my head, but I was too focused on the crowd ahead of me to pay much attention to what was being said.

That was a young Kakashi over to the left (there was a momentary tight feeling in my chest, almost of relief or concern, though I couldn't say why), his gravity defying silver hair, slanted hitai-ate and face mask giving him away immediately. He appeared to be trying to keep up a calm exterior, but I could feel his sparky chakra jumping all over the place. Standing beside him was none other than Maito Gai, his usual exuberant grin not in place as he, too, attempted to try and stay calm in the face of what was happening. Beside them were a young Kurenai, the vestiges of indignant rage still fading from her face, and Asuma, my uncle. An uncle I hadn't seen or sensed once in the time I'd been alive here, as his chakra signature (at times a furiously blowing gale, and at others a light breeze) was entirely unfamiliar to me. He was staring at Mother and me in incredulity, and I turned back to press my face into her shoulder again. I didn't want to stay here with a man who hadn't so much as acknowledged my presence in the months I'd been alive, safety concerns be damned.

"Yume-chan, _your_ uncle Asuma _is going to_ take care _of you now,_ OK?" Mother's voice suddenly said, and I felt myself being shifted and held away from her. I reached for her neck frantically, trying to get a grip on it and not let go (' _never let go, please don't go,_ _ **don't die, please no!**_ '), but she was faster than me. The last thing I saw was her face, smiling sadly at me, before I was deposited in another set of arms and she was gone.

"No. No no no no no," I sobbed out, struggling against the arms holding me, still reaching frantically for Mother, because **how could she just leave me here?** All rational thoughts went out the window, adult mind or not, because that was my Mom, damn it! Reincarnation or not, original family or not, I loved her, and she wasn't allowed to die! I let out another little sob, thinking of her and Dad going up against that _thing_ , that creature that could level buildings and tear people to shreds if it just shifted wrong, and I hadn't done anything to stop it!

"Hey. Hey there. _It's going to_ … _we're going to_ …you're safe now," A vaguely familiar voice said as I was shifted once again so I could face the person holding me. Asuma was shooting me a tremulous smile, but I could almost feel the anxiety rolling off him. He obviously had no idea what to do with me, and was probably just as scared for my parents and the rest of the village as I was. Although when it came to guilt complexes, I was undoubtedly winning.

"Not safe," I said, reaching up and rubbing at my face with my sleeve. It was wet and snotty, and I had to resort to using both to get it vaguely cleaned up. "Want Mom and Dad. Not safe!" I sobbed, and Asuma immediately looked panicked.

"Yume-chan, how old are you now?" He asked me, his tone slightly cajoling, and I frowned at him. I wasn't sure if he was trying to distract me or what, but the fact he didn't already know his niece's age was a mark against him in my book. Asuma had never been around, so either my parents didn't trust him to be around me, or he'd had some falling out with them and thus didn't want to visit. But Mom and Dad trusted him enough to leave me with him when they had to leave and fight, so it was probably something else. Maybe Grandpa was the problem then? The manga had painted their relationship as being rocky at times when Asuma had been younger.

"Nine months," I finally said, rubbing at my face again and deciding I didn't care right now. I was trying to fight down the panic and worry, and if he was willing to distract me, I'd let him.

" _Damn_ , really? Wait, no, I mean…don't tell your Mom I said that," He spluttered, and I let out a little giggle.

"OK. Cookie," I joked, holding out a hand and waiting. He paused, looking confused, before Kurenai took mercy on him with a laugh.

"I think _your niece means that she_ won't tell _anyone if you give her_ a cookie first," She said, and Asuma gave me a disapproving look.

"Really, kid? _Already extorting people at_ your age?" I grinned at him brightly, before turning in his arms to inspect the clearing as Kurenai started laughing again. I hadn't noticed before, but there was a faint hum to the chakra in the air, and I could feel what seemed like a bubble surrounding us. It appeared to be anchored to several tags spaced among the trees, tags which were powered by various shinobi seated above them. Some were dressed in the standard Konoha uniform that I remembered from the manga, and others in more random assortments of clothes. The barrier they were powering was cutting down on the levels of the Kyuubi's chakra that I could sense though, which was probably why I could think more clearly.

" _You have a very Youthful niece indeed_ , Asuma-san!" Gai's voice suddenly cut in, at top volume, and I glanced over to him, slightly horrified. Oh god, I did not want to deal with one of his rants on the benefits of the Springtime of Youth right now.

"No," I said, cutting him off and holding one of my tiny hands out at him, palm forward, in the universal gesture for stop. "Bad loud. Stop." Asuma snickered and Kurenai giggled at the suddenly crestfallen look on Gai's face. Don't get me wrong, I rather liked the man, and his exuberance had always made me smile while I was reading the manga, but now really wasn't the time for one of his outbursts. I didn't think the bubble barrier could handle it.

(And I would be proven right in the years to come, that barriers just weren't designed to handle Konoha's Sublime Green Beast of Prey.)

" _Your niece seems_ pretty interesting, Asuma," Another teenager joked, moving over to stand with us, and Asuma shot him an unimpressed look. He was also familiar, with his bandana hitai-ate and sandy hair, but only when I caught sight of the glint of a needle in between his teeth did I realize who it was. That had to be Shiranui Genma, a personal favourite of mine from the series. Thus, the teenager with a large bandage wrapped across his face, centered over his nose, that was standing to his left could have only been Namiashi Raidou. I was pretty sure they'd always been attached at the hip in any fanfiction I'd read.

Conversation started up between them, and I ignored it in favour of watching Kakashi eventually move over to join the group. He'd been patrolling the barrier up till a moment ago, having decided to ignore us in favour of what I had assumed was probably brooding. My abrupt stop to Gai's shouting had apparently peaked his interest though, if the sharp way he was watching me was any indication.

It was about an hour before I felt the Kyuubi's malevolent chakra suddenly cut out. Everyone else around me instantly tensed, but I just slumped sadly. ' _I'm sorry Minato, Kushina. Grandma. I should have done something_.'

"Yume-chan, are you OK?" Asuma asked, patting me gently on the back in what he must have figured was a soothing gesture. Normally he'd be right but…not right now.

"No," I said, quietly, and shifted in his arms to press my face into his shoulder. I didn't want to talk anymore, just wallow for a bit. I had no idea what was happening out there right now, if Mom and Dad were still alive or not, but I did know that I hadn't done anything to prevent Grandpa from living through the night. He had in canon, so he would now. Grandma was dead though, at the hands of Obito. So were Minato, and Kushina, and countless others. Naruto was an orphan now, and soon enough the village would start to hate him. And it was all my fault **.**

It was another hour before we received any word of what had happened, in the form of a troop of foreign (to me at least) chakra signatures arriving in the clearing. I felt it when the barrier was dropped, and when one of the signatures approached us. Words were said, probably about the attack and the destruction, and a whole bunch of other things. I was too tired and guilty and just plain sad to pay any attention though, so when Asuma started moving forward I didn't say anything. I didn't react to anything again until I suddenly felt three familiar chakra signatures enter my sensing range, and I jerked upright to frantically look around for them.

Dad was the first to spot us, and he and Mom used Shunshin to appear instantly in front of us. Grandpa was just a beat behind them, and I suddenly felt myself being enveloped in familiar arms, and Mom's scent filled my nostrils. I instantly started bawling, and she made quiet soothing noises as she held me and rocked me back and forth. Dad's arms wrapped around us in the next moment, his gentle humming adding another layer of comfort. I could hear Asuma and Grandpa exchanging quiet words behind us, but I didn't care about that right now.

' _They're safe and alive and I'm so sorry and I love them so much and it's my fault and I'm sorry and-_ ' I didn't realize I'd been babbling apologies in between sobs till Mom started trying to soothe me by saying things weren't my fault. That made me start sobbing harder though, because she had no idea what she was talking about.

"I love you, Mama," I choked out, and she stilled abruptly before letting out a wet little laugh.

"I love you too, Yume-chan. _My beautiful baby girl_ , I love you so much," I could feel it then, how anxious she'd been about leaving me behind, how scared she'd been that she wouldn't come back, or that Dad wouldn't, or that neither of them would. How hard it had been, fighting the Kyuubi under its malevolent stare. How much it had hurt, seeing people she'd known most of her life get knocked down and not get back up. How miserable she was, because this was her home and it was in utter ruins, and because of how she had lost so many people tonight, good people who hadn't deserved to die. I felt it all in her chakra, that and more, and it nearly overwhelmed me for a moment.

"Yume-chan, _it's going to_ be OK now. I promise," Dad said, leaning down and kissing me on the head, and it pulled me out of my stupor. I leaned back slightly to look up at him, only to see the faint sheen of tear tracks, flickering in the light from the fires that had yet to be fully doused, and a sad, broken smile on his face. ' _I did that. I put that there_.'

"I love you, Daddy," I said, reaching my arms out for him, and he leaned in again so I could wrap my arms around his neck and hide my face in its crook. He wrapped his arms more tightly around Mama and me, and I felt another body being squished into our group hug then. Asuma was hiding his face in Daddy's shoulder, I could sense him just behind me. If he was also crying quietly, none of us were going to say anything. He'd lost people too, and he deserved a chance to cry just as much as anyone else, shinobi rules be damned.

* * *

In the following weeks, there were memorials and funerals. A lot of them. The memorial held for the Yondaime Hokage was huge, and attended by basically every survivor in the village, reconstruction be damned. Grandpa, who had taken up his old mantle of Sandaime Hokage again, delivered a speech detailing the last words of Minato, with a lot of Will of Fire propaganda thrown in for good measure. From my spot up on the deck of the Hokage Tower (the Administration Centre was one of the few places not damaged in the attack), I could feel the roiling emotions from the crowd below us. Mama, Daddy, Asuma and I were all there, in our positions as the current Hokage's family, bracketing Grandpa on the left while the Elders bracketed him on the right.

The main feelings I was getting from the crowd were disbelief, anger, sadness, and hatred. They didn't want to set aside their emotions, not after so much loss, not when there was a convenient scapegoat to lay all their blame and negativity on. I winced, and hid my face in Mama's neck. I'd been oversensitive when it came to sensing emotions linked to chakra fluctuations since the incident after the Kyuubi Attack, and it hadn't been getting better. If anything, it might be worse.

Most of the time, it wasn't so bad. I'd had practice ignoring the ambient chakra in the world for a while, so I was now learning to mute most of the impressions I got from a person's chakra when I sensed it. I was trying to figure out how to go back to only sensing a person's general signature, and whether it was familiar or not. With large concentrations of people like this, though, all feeling the same things all at once, the feedback was too great. Their emotions tainted the natural chakra in the air, making it nearly overwhelming and impossible to block out.

In comparison, Grandma's funeral was a lot quieter. Sure, there was a large turnout, but not enough to prevent me from practicing ignoring most of the ambient emotions in the air. I couldn't shut out the feelings of loss and sadness, but I would have been feeling those myself anyways, so it didn't matter quite so much. I was still feeling guilty too, and I'd been subdued in the weeks since the attack. Asuma, and occasionally some of his friends, babysat me a lot in those weeks, while my parents ran around and pulled double shifts as ANBU to try and help the reconstruction efforts.

I'd finally found out their positions as ANBU a few days after the attack, when they'd both shown up in full uniform, their masks in place, to pick me up from the Hokage's office. Asuma had been busy trying to sort out a new place to live, since his apartment had been destroyed, and he'd been hesitant to move back into the compound with us. From what I'd been able to sense, it was partly because he hadn't forgiven Grandpa for whatever spat had prompted him to move out in the first place, despite everything that had happened, and because he didn't want to be a burden on us. That, and I don't think he liked the reminders of Grandma that hung everywhere one turned.

The compound had been undamaged in the attack. Apparently, there'd been dormant protection seals I hadn't known about, built into the foundation when the compound had first been built at the founding of the village. If they could protect it from the rampages of the Kyuubi, they had to have been strong. I figured they were probably of Uzushiogakure make, meaning they were in the Uzumaki style of fuuinjutsu, meaning I was going to go down in the cellar and investigate them. At some point. When I didn't feel quite so tired and sad all the time.

Reconstruction efforts were hard, but no one could ever accuse the people of Konohagakure of being quitters. Or of losing hope, even when everything seemed hopeless. I admired that about the village, if nothing else. Maybe the militant propaganda had some use after all, besides brainwashing the populace into serving a military dictator and sending their children off to die in the name of giving up their life for the 'good of the village'. So, I was feeling a little bit cynical. Would you blame me?

I didn't see a lot of my parents in those months. I mean, they tried to stop by and make sure I was all right, but sometimes it would be just me and Asuma in the compound for days and days in a row. I figured Grandpa was sending as many ninja as he could manage out on missions to keep the cash flow going, because it wouldn't do to have Konoha seem weak so soon after the war had ended. We needed to keep up appearances, regardless of how many lives had been lost in the attack, and how much damage had been done. The active shinobi roster, at least for the elite ranks, was probably depleted right now. I figured anybody of chuunin rank or higher that could pull off a B-rank or above solo was probably getting run ragged. Although, if that was the case, what was Asuma doing around still?

I finally got up the energy to ask him a few days before my birthday (Asuma actually crossed out days on the calendar, and I'd made him circle my birthday in pink crayon), and he'd seemed angry for a moment before just kind of slumping tiredly. He'd been coping well, given the circumstances, but how much of that was just him suppressing his emotions so he could help look after me I didn't know. Or, well, I did, but I was trying to ignore it. Otherwise, all those extra emotions were going to start to drive me crazy. Or crazier, anyhow.

"Ichigo and Madoka _entrusted_ you to me. I'm not going to let them down," He explained, and I caught the subtext of Grandpa making it an order at some point, but then he pulled me into his arms for a brief hug. I went willingly, letting him squish me like I was a stuffed animal if it made him feel better. I wasn't above doing the same with my own stuffed monkey, Captain Anderson. Yeah, I named him in English. Mostly to confuse people, because that was always funny, but also to remind me of my past life. Even back then, I was starting to feel some of my old memories slip away, fade away into nothing. I held onto what I could of my last life with a tight grip, refusing to let it go, but in return a lot of things that might have been useful for this new world began to slip through the cracks.

"Besides, I'm sure Mom _would have killed me_ if I let anything happen to her precious granddaughter. Kami, she _didn't shut up_ aboutyou for a second _whenever_ she came to visit me _at_ my apartment. She used to say that I _should hurry up and get over myself_ and come back home, because _otherwise_ I'd miss all your important _milestones_." If he sounded choked up when he said what I understood of that, and I felt a few tears land on my head, I ignored it. I missed her too.

Mama and Daddy came home to celebrate my first birthday, though. I was worried for a while that they might miss it, because Grandpa had sent them out on a lengthy mission about a week beforehand. When February 18th arrived however, they were both there when I woke up, looking slightly haggard and dishevelled, but still there. The festivities were muted, due partly to the fact that everyone was still too tired to have a party, but also because reconstruction was still happening everywhere in Konoha. A lot of housing had been completed, as well as temporary housing, but there was still much work to be done.

I had a few members of the Rookie Nine show up, to my surprise. The adult Ino-Shika-Cho trio arrived, being dragged along by their respective spouses, and bringing babies in various stages of development. Shikamaru and Ino were adorable and still in the crawling around and being mostly useless phase. They were already starting to display facets of their future personalities nevertheless, if the deft way in which Shika managed to maneuver Ino into becoming fascinated with some of the toys laid out instead of harassing him, all with minimal effort, was any indication. Chouji was older than them and could toddle around a bit, though seemed more interested in eating the snacks laid out and napping with Shikamaru on the colourful cushions I'd picked out for just that purpose.

Shibi Aburame, accompanied by his wife and son, also showed up. Shino was older than me by a month, per Mama's information when I'd asked, and seemed decently intelligent. He could speak with people, to a moderate degree, though he appeared to prefer long silences and gesturing at things instead. He even had on a cute mini version of what his Dad was wearing, thick grey jacket, shinobi sandals, sunglasses and all, and I thought he looked adorable. (I liked cute kids, what can I say?)

Our last arrivals were actually Hizashi Hyuuga and his wife, with a young Neji in tow. Apparently, Mama and Daddy had invited both them and Hiashi, but Hiashi had declined because Hinata was only a few weeks old, and because the birth had been difficult on her mom. Neji was currently too young to have the cursed seal branded on his head, meaning he was still an innocent little cherub. As the oldest one there he was also an adequate conversation partner…for a toddler. Since my vocabulary was still more advanced than his though, I was forced to dumb it down a lot. At least he could keep up with me when it came time to play more energetic games, unlike the other children. Shino was the only one capable of running around after us, as the other three were still too young.

Asuma had also invited some of his own friends, so I was greeted by the sight of more familiar faces than I knew what to do with. Besides Kurenai, Gai, Genma, and Raidou, who I'd already met, he also apparently knew Ebisu, a loud girl with purple hair in a ponytail, a boy with dark bags under his eyes, and another tall boy with a shaved head and a bandana style hitai-ate to cover it. I was certain I knew their names, but I couldn't for the life of me remember them. Of the group of teenagers, Ebisu had almost immediately been drawn aside by Grandpa, and they'd begun a whispered conversation in regards to what I could only assume was tutoring for me.

Supposedly, Kakashi had been invited as well, though he'd probably disappeared rather thoroughly into ANBU at this point, if the timeline was any judge. I don't think he'd be emerging anytime soon, not if feelings still gave him hives. Don't get me wrong, I totally understood the need to get away and pretend emotions weren't a thing, especially after the loss of people close to you. All the same, the fact that it was his default setting was concerning, although I couldn't figure out why it was bothering me as much as it was.

So, overall, we had an interesting group there. Mama had seemed to be waiting for some other people, for a while, but as time passed and they didn't show up, she'd thrown herself into dealing with the food with an almost frightening gusto. Things were still subdued though, due in no small part to the fact that Gai was the only energetic one, which I dealt with almost immediately by relegating him to the role of Party Game Manager for the kids. He seemed happy enough to do it, and I figured that having Neji exposed to him early probably wouldn't hurt anything. Besides, if anyone could deal with a bunch of highly intelligent toddlers and not get tired, it was Gai.

The only downside to the whole day was a lack of any sighting of Naruto. I figured he was probably at one of the orphanages in town, but why hadn't Grandpa brought him along to my birthday? Wasn't he supposed to be fond of the kid? I didn't think Mama or Daddy would have protested, and to my understanding the rest of the parents there had been friends of Minato and Kushina, so what might the problem have been? I still don't know why to this day, and it's not like I can just ask. I'm not supposed to remember things from when I was only a year old.

I received a sizeable haul of presents, mostly things that people would consider normal for a baby girl. This mainly consisted of sturdy, plastic dolls, colourful ribbons, and various clothes, even though these people were shinobi and really should know better. Grandpa got me another stuffed monkey though, this one the size of a small pony, and it was golden and had a Konoha hitai-ate on and was perfect. I named him Goku, because I was a dork like that. I didn't let go of that monkey for hours after, which most everyone found hilarious.

Gai, Asuma and Kurenai had gotten me training weights. Apparently, they'd all pitched in and I'd be able to use them as I grew up because they were adjustable. Plus, the weights grew heavier or lighter based on how much of one's chakra were channelled into them, so I'd never need to get another pair again. I was vaguely surprised that they cared enough to get me something like that, but I figured Asuma had probably talked them into it. Although, they had been helping Asuma babysit me sometimes (mostly Kurenai, because there was only so much of Gai one could take in a single session), so maybe I'd left a better impression than I thought?

Raidou, Genma and the rest of the teenagers were a part of the 'normal baby gifts' club, but Ebisu had come prepared for his possible position as future tutor to the Sandaime's grandkid (grandkids? Damn it, now I was worried about Konohamaru again). I was now inundated with beginner books on all manner of things like chakra theory, the Academy Three ninjutsu, basic math, history, science and Japanese, as well as basic taijutsu exercises. They were all the dumbed down, kid versions, but it was a frankly amazing start. I could use these to begin preparing for my plans down the road, all of which involved the gathering of strength as quickly as I could manage it. I would never be as helpless as I had been on the day of the Kyuubi attack **ever again**.

Thus, overall, a good day. When everyone left, and Mama, Daddy and Asuma were busy cleaning up the house, I snuck out into the central garden, lugging Goku with me, and just sat under the plum tree for a bit. Winters in Konoha tended to be lacking in snow and with above freezing temperatures, mostly owing to the Land of Fire having a mild climate, so I could sit outside for a while without getting cold. The tree had started blooming a few days ago, and even though I hadn't been around the last time it had done so, it made me feel closer to Grandma in a way. How many times had she sat here and seen this same sight?

Grandpa found me like that, still dressed in his casual robes and carrying some blankets. Apparently, he'd taken the day off from Hokage business, and I kind of wondered who he'd left in charge. He settled in beside me and wrapped one of the blankets around my shoulders, and we just sat for a while, watching the plum blossoms in the fading light. ' _I promise, Grandma, I'm not going to let anyone else die. No matter what it takes, I will make a difference._ '


	4. Intro Arc: Best Laid Plans

A/N: Alright, hey guys! We hit 25 likes back on Tuesday, and I wanted to post this chapter then to celebrate, but it didn't feel ready yet. I've since edited it. A lot. I hope you all like it, and the rest of the author's note will be at the end of the chapter. Enjoy!

Oh, and a note. Where before " _Words,"_ meant things were in Japanese and our main character didn't understand a word, things have changed, and there will be no more of that _._

As always, Naruto belong to Kishimoto.

* * *

Chapter 3-Intro Arc: Best Laid Plans

"The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry."- Robert Burns

* * *

 _Two years. More_ than two years, and absolutely nothing. Not a single sighting, a single whiff, a single hint of Naruto's presence, and I grew increasingly frustrated as the time passed. It wasn't like he wasn't in Konoha right now, _because he was_ , I just couldn't seem to find him. Even with knowledge of how the Kyuubi's chakra felt, I couldn't even sense him. I knew he was in one of the orphanages, but getting close enough to try and pinpoint a signature I could follow was a challenge, one I still hadn't found a solution to. My range was still not that large, and I was still a toddler, still vulnerable, so I couldn't go anywhere without a guardian. That, or ANBU forces, but I had even less of a chance of slipping away to go explore when they were watching me. Overall, it was a frustrating two years.

Although, there had been some good points. After my first birthday, I'd discovered that my parents were good friends with Hyuuga Hizashi and his wife, so I ended up hanging out with Neji a lot. Our playdates were fun, and I liked having the chance to act like a kid for a while, when I wasn't stressfully attempting to come up with plans and predictions about the future. Black Zetsu had had centuries to perfect his plans, and if I wanted to stand even half a chance of making a difference I needed to cover all my bases. Then I had to come up with all manner of contingency plans, because he was a slippery bastard and there was no way I was going to let him resurrect Kaguya.

Shino was usually along on those playdates as well, and we ended up creating a rotating schedule. One week, we'd all spend time at our compound, the next at the Aburame compound, and the third at the Hyuuga compound. Sometimes my family or the Aburames had to double up for another week, because the Main Branch Hyuuga Elders were throwing a hissy fit over how a Branch Member was attempting to 'curry favour' with the Hokage's family. I missed having Neji around those weeks, because Shino was great and all, but super quiet. When it was just the two of us, he and I usually spent the time drawing or playing shogi or solving puzzles. Anything that didn't involve excessive talking.

Our playdate today was one of those weeks where Neji wasn't there, and it was just Shino and me playing in my living room. My Mama and his mom were in the kitchen, and our fathers were watching us play, discussing some mission or other that they'd both been on. Asuma was out with his friends today, and Grandpa was busy doing Hokage stuff, so it was just the six of us. Normally I'd be enjoying myself, but it was November the 29th, meaning I had exactly one month until the Hyuuga Affair would occur, and I was starting to freak out a little. I had some basic ideas in place, but most of them hinged on Neji, and he wasn't here for me to talk to today.

I knew that the incident happened on Hinata's birthday, so it made sense that somehow increasing the security around the Hyuuga Compound that night would probably dissuade the Kumo-nin from attempting the kidnapping in the first place. I had the tentative idea of holding a sleepover for that day, but Hinata and I weren't really close enough for me to suggest it to her. If I made it a suggestion from Neji as a surprise for Hinata though, it might go over better, since he was her cousin and all. Hinata usually got invited along to play with us when we were at the Hyuuga compound, so we were all fairly well acquainted. However, she and I hadn't had the chance to really talk, owing partly to the fact that she was way younger than me and thus not as quick to keep up as Neji and Shino, but also because she tended to just cling to her mother the whole time we were around.

Anyways, I'd been planning on proposing the idea to Neji today, but he hadn't come and now I was stuck with my half-formed plans and a silent tag-along. I glanced at Shino out of the corner of my eye and saw him watching me. I couldn't tell what he was thinking, not with his eyes covered with a mini pair of shades and his coat collar covering half of his face, but I could sense from his buzzing chakra that he was probably trying to work up the courage for something. Shino's chakra felt like a smooth, sun-baked stone, and was always buzzing. The buzzing was because of his kikaichu, which he'd shown to me a few times before, although always under his father's supervision. He was still training with them.

Normally, I disliked bugs solely on principle. They had way too many legs and eyes and were just plain creepy. The kikaichu were similarly weird, but they each had their own tiny spark of chakra that felt like Shino, so I wasn't quite as bothered by them. The presence of my friend's chakra was a comfort. Besides, I liked the Aburame clan now that I'd spent so much time exposed to them, so I was starting to work past that fear. I had still told Shino that he wasn't to tell me if he used me for kikaichu tracking practice, because I would definitely freak out.

"Yumeko-chan, should we do something for Hinata-san's birthday? Why do I ask? Because she is the cousin of our friend, and is something of a friend herself, and I believe that means we should acknowledge it in the form of a present of some sort," Shino finally said, and I found myself smiling at him. Of course, he'd managed to accidentally pick up on the subject of my thoughts. He tended to do that.

"I was thinking the same thing, Shino-kun. What do you think would be an appropriate present?" I asked, and he paused in his work on the puzzle we'd laid out as temporary entertainment. I still hated puzzles, but since Shino liked them so much I tended to just go along with him when he got them out.

"You seem to like books and shinobi materials for your birthday, but I am unsure Hinata-san would feel the same," He said, and crossed his arms over his chest, seeming to take a moment to think about it. Shino was nothing if not observant, so I'd let him puzzle it out. I wasn't as…in touch with what a regular child would want, so I was saving all my ideas till Shino ran out of them.

I'd been pretty adamant in my goal of becoming a kunoichi ever since my first birthday, which my family supported wholeheartedly. What else could I have done, realistically, with a lineage like mine? Now, since I was three, but quickly approaching four, that meant a lot of games disguised as training. Asuma usually handled my 'stealth training', disguised as really complicated hide-and-seek with so many rules I didn't even want to think about it. It was headache inducing, and I just knew that Asuma came up with new rules on a whim just to mess with me. While he was obviously better at it, I was starting to get OK at suppressing my chakra to hide from him. And I'd never had trouble finding him when he hid because I was just so attuned to his chakra signature, after two years of exposure to it.

Mama and Daddy had taken to performing various stretching exercises with me in the mornings. They were a lot like yoga, and while they'd originally included various songs that must have been meant to appeal to children, Daddy's horrid singing had quickly ended those. Not that I minded. I liked the stretching on its own, reveling in the flexibility and energy of this new body. I'd never have been able to manage such things before…before. This was a thousand times better then being confined to a…

"Maybe something based around flowers? She seems to like those," I suggested, trying not to sound desperate, after Shino remained silent for a few moments. I needed a distraction, now, before memories I didn't want to dwell on reared their ugly heads.

"Perhaps…a clip for her hair?" Shino eventually said, and I smiled slightly.

"I don't see why not. Ooh, it should be a sunflower!" I said, and he nodded. ' _She'd named one of her future kids that, right?_ _Come on, let's focus on that. What did she name her other kid? What about Sasuke? What was his daughter's name again?_ '

"I believe that should be appropriate. Why? Because she seems likely to be grateful for our attempt to acknowledge her likes, and is kind enough to appreciate the gesture on its own," He added, ignoring my odd behaviour as always. That was my favourite thing about Shino. He accepted my oddness in the same way I accepted his.

I nodded absent-mindedly, trying to list the names of all the future children that I remembered from the manga, as a distraction from things I didn't want to remember. Even though I'd tried my hardest, memories of my death just wouldn't fade, damn it! I knew I was losing other important things that I might need, but I couldn't help but sometimes dwell on the thing that had brought me to this world. It was like…suddenly being reminded of an embarrassing memory, except this one wasn't so much humiliating as traumatizing. Who wants to remember something like that?

"When were you going to get this birthday present?" Daddy's voice cut in, and Shino and I glanced over to his position on the couch, where he was leaning forward, his chin propped up on his left hand. ' _Oh, thank Kami-sama, a better distraction_.' Shibi had apparently disappeared to check on lunch, because I could sense his own buzzing chakra in the kitchen. Whereas Shino felt like a warm stone, Shibi felt like a solid, sturdy boulder.

"We have a month, Daddy. I was gonna make one of the ANBU go get it. They might as well be useful for something," I said, smiling brightly and innocently at him. There was a beat of silence before he let out a sigh.

"No respect for the guards, Yume-chan?" He asked, and I could almost feel the subtext of 'no respect for your father's work?' hidden under there.

"They just sit around the house all day, lazing on the roof and the trees," I replied, crossing my little arms over my chest and shooting him an unimpressed look. I knew that Daddy and Mama were a part of ANBU, but in regards to what section they might belong to or what positions they held, I had no clue. Nor did I particularly want to ask. I knew they were shinobi, I knew that they'd most definitely killed at some point in their careers, but they were my parents. I loved them, but I didn't want to deal with the reality of their work. I'd worry about it later. Maybe. When I'd been desensitized to the concept.

"They're busy keeping watch for threats, not 'lazing around'," Daddy responded, pouting. He didn't like it when I questioned the necessity of the ANBU guards. I understood that, as the residence of the Hokage, there needed to be a portion of the Hokage's ANBU guard dedicated to watching it. I just didn't understand why they felt the need to watch the house when there were at least three highly capable jounin present. I wasn't yet sure what rank Shino's mom, Shizuko, held, but based on the presence of her chakra I had to assume she was at least chuunin ranked.

I'd started to be able to sense the, well, depth of a person's chakra a few months ago. It was an addition to my abilities that I wasn't entirely certain that I liked. People were more than capable of suppressing their chakra, and I couldn't differentiate between a natural and suppressed state yet. I was working on digging deeper into chakra signatures, to figure out what they were hiding from me in regards to power and depth, but I hadn't had much chance to practice. Mama, Daddy, Asuma and the other adults I spent time with didn't usually suppress their chakra that much, at least not in the village. What would be the point? Unless they were trying to exert pressure on someone, the level of development of someone's chakra didn't have much of an impact on anyone else. Unless they were a sensor.

"But Konoha is super safe!" I said. "Besides, you and Mama would stop anything before it got into the house. Especially Mama. She's scary," I continued, and shuddered at the thought of what would happen to any intruders that my mother caught. It wouldn't be pleasant. There was a laugh from the kitchen at that, and Mama and Shino's mom came out bearing platters of food. Shibi followed along behind them, munching on what looked like the remnants of a pork bun.

Shino and I instantly bounced to our feet and ran over to our respective mothers to beg for food. Daddy followed behind us, managing to liberate a plate of gyoza from Mama while she attempted to fend me off with another laugh. The food ended up being laid out on the living room table, with several bits missing due to enterprising fingers, and we all settled on the couches to eat the delicious food.

Yeah, definitely one of the good days.

* * *

The weeks till Hinata's birthday seemed to pass in something of a blur of planning. After we got the OK for the party and sleepover from Hinata's mom (once I'd managed to convince Neji to ask, via bribery, and she'd 'informed' her husband it was happening, so it was his job to prepare the Hyuuga elders for it), I was left in charge of all the details. I didn't mind that much, as it had been my idea, but I'd demanded that Neji and Shino each pick a person to invite along. They needed to be people that Hinata would know, however. In the end, we each ended up inviting one member of the Ino-Shika-Cho child trio, as they'd been along on our playdates one or two times and had thus met Hinata.

I got along well with Neji and Shino, but I liked Shikamaru as well. He'd always been more than capable of keeping up with my trio, intellectually, even when we'd been younger. Sometimes, though, I wondered if he wasn't smarter, just hiding it. It seemed like something he would do. All the same, he was usually napping when he hung out with us, something that I left him to by distracting Ino whenever I got the chance. I figured he had a good reason, and sleep was pretty great.

Chouji and Ino were nice too, but they and Shikamaru were something of a unit. They were almost always together and thus knew each other better. Sometimes it felt weird to try and insert myself into their dynamic, let alone drag Neji and Shino into it. It made some of our playdates a little strained, and I knew I wasn't the only one who'd noticed. I felt like it was part of the reason we only saw them every few months, unlike how I saw Neji and Shino basically every week.

Anyways, I'd managed to invite Ino after tracking her to her family's flower shop about a week before Hinata's birthday, and when I say track I mean I made Asuma take me around the village till we found her. She'd seemed more than happy to come along, and had immediately inserted herself into the planning, not that I minded. Even at the age of three, Ino was a social butterfly. With her help, I managed to get everything else together (with approval from Hinata's mom and my own mother), and she even came along with me when I dragged Uncle Asuma and the ANBU guards out to buy Hinata's present. Sparrow and Bear were the two who split off to follow us more closely.

Sparrow's chakra felt like a calm, undisturbed pond and Bear's like a banked fire, and they were almost always together. I assumed they were probably a part of the same squad, as Lion (a roaring thunderstorm) and Bat (a flickering lantern) almost always accompanied them, rounding them out to a four-man squad. They'd been my assigned ANBU guards for as long as I could remember, and I liked the group well enough. They usually stayed out of sight and left me to my own devices, which I appreciated.

Ino greatly approved of mine and Shino's decision to get a flower hair clip (something about the lack of emphasis on the importance of flower arranging in shinobi life), and she ended up buying a hibiscus hair clip in a similar style. We had all received allowance for this express purpose, but seeing as Mama had included extra for me to get snacks after, I ended up treating Ino to some dango on our way back. Asuma had been happy enough to steal some of our dango as 'payment' for his babysitting services. I just let him have half of mine, as Ino had gotten a look on her face that had me worried for my uncle's continued existence when he jokingly tried to take some of hers.

When we got back to my house, Ino's parents were already waiting to take her home, so we said our goodbyes and I went back to plotting. Mostly, I worried over what the Kumo-nin might do in response to the increased security. The security, made up of ANBU squads as far as I knew, was owed in part because I was the Hokage's granddaughter, but also because of the large gathering of clan heirs that would be present. I didn't see how they'd be able to get in past all the extra guards now, though.

Said Kumo-nin had arrived in the village early yesterday, for peace talks between our villages. There was a contingent of nine of them, the equivalent of two squads, and the Head Ninja they were escorting. Our family had been on hand to welcome them, as the Hokage's family almost always had to be present for such political things. However, since they'd arrived, I'd noticed a marked increase in the tension in the air, as well as the overall levels of distaste and resentment infusing the ambient chakra. The elite of the village were on high alert, as the general populace watched the outsiders with barely concealed hate in their eyes. Nobody really wanted them here.

All the same, I understood why the peace talks had to happen. Even two years after the death of the Yondaime and the Kyuubi attack, our village was still not as powerful as it had once been. Losing a beloved Hokage, as well as many of the elite forces that had fought the fox, had been a tough blow, one the village was only beginning to recover from.

I wondered now, though, why Grandpa had capitulated to Kumo when they'd demanded compensation for the death of their Head Ninja originally. The population would have probably been baying for Kumo's blood for the attempted kidnapping, based solely on their current reactions to them just being in Konoha. It didn't make sense, unless… _unless they hadn't known_. Maybe it had been kept secret? It would make a certain amount of sense, as it wouldn't have been politically ideal to show such weakness to Kumo when the populace was so against them. It would have made more sense to quietly give in to their demands, hush up the kidnapping and subsequent death of Hizashi, and then sell the newly founded 'peace' as a win for both hidden villages.

As much as Konoha might be a military dictatorship, I didn't think Grandpa held as much political power as people thought he did. Konoha was way more like an oligarchy, with the richer elite and noble clans controlling what did and didn't happen. The Daimyo may have been basically useless, but we owed our allegiance to him, and thus to whichever people worked behind the scenes in the capital to actually keep the country running. Plus, there were all manner of nobles, both major and minor, who kept our village in business with their politicking and nonsense.

On top of all that, there were Grandpa's advisors. I'd met only two out of the three elders, Grandpa's old teammates, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, for which I was grateful. Utatane had just cooed at me, pinched my cheeks, and gone about her business, and Mitokado had ignored me. I was not looking forward to the moment when I met Danzou, who frankly scared the crap out of me. Luckily, I'd managed to avoid that thus far, and I was starting to wonder if that hadn't been a purposeful action on the part of my family. Not that I was complaining, because it cannot be stated enough how much the man, and what he might do to me if he figured out what I was, frightened me.

* * *

The day of Hinata's birthday party dawned bright and sunny, if a little chilly. It was still way warmer than I remember winter being back before…things, so I once again thanked Kami-sama for being reborn in the Land of Fire. I hated the cold, and these constant above freezing temperatures in the winter made me very happy. If we lived somewhere tropical, I'd have been even happier. While the above freezing temperatures meant snow was uncommon, that didn't mean it wasn't replaced by my one worse enemy: freezing rain.

I spent a good hour or so being fussed over by Mama, who dressed me up in a little yukata. It was a deep green with a white obi, with beautiful designs of plum blossoms and cavorting monkeys along the hem and sleeves ( _and the prettiest thing ever!)_ with the Sarutobi clan symbol on the back. She also clipped my dark brown bangs back with a steel pin engraved with designs that matched the plum blossoms on my robes. I'd been growing out my hair in this life in a manner I'd never managed originally, so it was now down to the small of my back and Mama could braid it when I felt like it. We were leaving it down today though, and when I got the chance to look in a mirror I had to admit that I made an adorable toddler.

There was still that moment of dissociation when I looked in a mirror nowadays, even after almost four years to get used to it. I worried, sometimes, that I'd always react this way. The hair was darker than I was used to, way longer than it had been, and my eyes were Mama's shade of light grey. Plus, the features were far more delicate and childlike, in a way that I'd not seen in almost two decades before this, and those memories were of photos of myself as a child. I mean, I was definitely a cute kid, but sometimes I found myself asking ' _Hey, who's that kid in the…oh. Right._ '

Daddy had been gone on some mission for a few days now, so it was just me and Mama walking to the Hyuuga compound today. She had our gifts in one arm, and she was holding my hand with her other. I toddled along beside her, unused to the restricted space of the yukata and being forced to take more careful steps. I think my efforts to keep up with her but still not damage the yukata amused her, because every time I'd glance up to look at Mama's face she was looking away and obviously trying not to laugh at me. I could also feel the amusement in her chakra, and it left me pouting. She just moved so gracefully in her own pale blue kimono, with a fancy pattern of grey butterflies dancing across the hem and sleeves, and while I was trying to imitate her way of moving around, it was obvious I was failing.

People treated us rather deferentially on the streets, getting out of our way as we walked, sometimes bowing, or nodding politely. Mama greeted them all with a smile and by their names, but we didn't stop to chat like we sometimes did. I had no idea how she managed to remember all of these people, mainly because I'd always been better with faces than names. I just tried to look innocent, cute and smile like she did, sticking to her side while I did so. The manga had never managed to convey just how differently both the Hokage and their family were treated. I mean, yeah, there had been some hints, but I guess I still just wasn't used to it.

I mean, it wasn't like I'd done anything to deserve the special treatment. I'd just been born into this family. I could hear them whispering sometimes, about the 'Sarutobi-hime' and the 'Honourable Granddaughter', and it irritated me. First, those were stupid names. I was no spoiled princess, no way. Maybe once, I might have been, but there was no time in this new life for me to sit around and get pampered constantly. My goal was strength, the strength to change things, and I wouldn't sit around and let life steamroll over me.

Second, why did they treat me so well, always smiling and bowing and being generous, but treat Naruto so badly? He was the son of the Yondaime, and you'd have to be a blind idiot to not notice the resemblance (or as I'd come to understand with time, willfully blind to the truth). The astounding levels of hypocrisy were just one of the things that I hated the most about this village, and this life. There were some good things, but did they outweigh the bad? My mind had been made up long ago, and there was no way I was changing it now, but sometimes…sometimes I wondered.

I also wondered how these people would react when I started at the Academy and became known as a 'prodigy'. I had never hid my adult mind, and had no plans to do so. Plus, while I hadn't started working with Ebisu, my tutor, on anything shinobi based yet, he seemed to be waiting for me to get a better grasp of my chakra. As it was, I still had a connection to the bright, lava-like energy, but manipulating it for too long left me exhausted. I was still too young to be able to attempt any of the chakra control exercises I remembered from canon, so I was stuck for the time being.

Shino and his mom were already at the gates to the Hyuuga compound when we got there, greeting the guards on duty, and I carefully bounced over to him. He was dressed in a yukata as well, but his was a light grey, with darker grey stripes, that was tied shut with a navy belt. He had on the traditional socks and sandals, like I did, but he still had on his ever-present shades. The one detraction from an otherwise formal appearance had me smiling, and I easily linked our arms. We nodded in greeting to each other, Shino smiling slightly back at me. The guards opened the gates and we all walked through them, the two of us ahead of our mothers, and two of the guards trailing behind our group as an escort.

The Hyuuga compound was giant, centered in the eastern side of the village as it was, and its size managed to astound me every time we entered it. This, even after almost three years. I got the reasoning behind it, because the Hyuuga clan was currently the biggest in the village, and one of the founding noble clans, but it still seemed a bit…excessive. All the same it was pretty, if traditional, with grey, cobble stone pathways cutting through the grounds, surrounded everywhere by traditional houses and mansions, their wooden panelling gleaming in the bright sunlight.

The grass was trimmed with care, as usual, and the carefully clipped trees, bushes and plants all had a feeling of purpose in their placement and design. To our left, several somber bushes had been shaped into simple rectangles, while on the right two lonely trees stood straight and tall, like ever watching sentinels. It all just influenced the constant obsessively clean and ordered feeling of the place. There was never a single blade of grass out of place, let alone any of the people, and I had to wonder if growing up in such a restrictive environment was one of the things that had made Hinata so shy and withdrawn in the manga. Well, on top of all the other things that had happened to her.

We met up with the Ino-Shika-Cho child trio and their respective parents, about halfway to the Main House of the compound, and were regaled by the sight of Ino berating Shikamaru and Chouji about something or other. The Nara and Yamanaka parents were watching with varying looks of fondness and exasperation on their faces, while Chouza quietly laughed into his amused wife's shoulder. Shino and I exchanged a look as our mothers greeted the other parents, and I separated from him to link my arm with Ino's instead.

"Hi, Ino-chan!" I chirped, smiling at her brightly, and she paused in her tirade to smile at me in return. She was dressed in a dark purple yukata today, white lily of the valley flowers and fluttering doves scattered across the fabric, bordering her sleeves, collar, and hem. Her hair was up in its customary pony tail, but it was pinned with a pretty amethyst kanzashi that matched her robes.

"Hi, Yumeko-chan! It's nice to see that _someone_ is in a good mood today," She said, shooting a pointed look at the two boys, one of whom was deliberately not looking at her and the other carefully munching on a rice ball. Shikamaru and Chouji were both wearing yukatas in a similar style to Shino, except Shikamaru's was a dark green like my own, and Chouji's was a burnt orange. They looked adorable, and I fought down the urge to reach out and pinch cheeks. ' _Must…resist…baby cheeks_.'

"Hi, Shikamaru-kun, Chouji-kun. You both look nice today," I said, choosing to ignore the comment for the time being. Shikamaru muttered a tired greeting at me, which I'd half been expecting, and Chouji smiled and thanked me for the compliment. He was a sweetheart sometimes.

"Shino-kun, Yumeko-chan, there you are!" a bossy, high-pitched voice called out, and I turned to see Neji hurrying down the path towards us, grinning brightly. When he spotted the gathering of adults around us, including the Hyuuga guards, he faltered, the grin wiping from his face and his 'Hyuuga mask' slipping into place instead. He immediately slowed his place and straightened up, walking towards us with purpose, and I frowned a little.

It had always irritated me whenever he did that, going from a cheerful little boy into a sneering, arrogant brat, but I hadn't said anything yet. It wasn't like he could do anything about it, specifically because he was a Branch House member. They were held to stricter standards than the Main House, from what I'd picked up over the years, and my attempting to change his Hyuuga mannerisms might get him in trouble with the clan elders. Who I still considered to be giant dicks.

"Neji-kun, it is good to see you," Shino said, his voice quiet, and I felt Ino startle slightly against my arm. I hadn't noticed, but did he speak that little in front of the other trio? He was quiet with me and Neji, but we still could coax conversation out of him on occasion. Maybe he just didn't like talking in front of them yet?

"I apologize for being unable to visit last week," Neji said, stiffly, and he bowed slightly at us. He'd missed our playdate last week, but there hadn't been an explanation provided. When he straightened, there was something cold in his eyes, and it hurt to look at. That was when I noticed the white bandana wrapped around his forehead, and I went still. As the other children around me exchanged pleasantries, a sinking feeling of guilt began to creep through me. He…wasn't supposed to be branded this early, right? I mean, it should have happened soon, but…I couldn't remember when anymore.

It would have happened anyway, there was nothing I could have done about it. But, this was the first step that would push Neji down his fatalistic path, and towards a general hatred of himself and his family. I couldn't bear to see my friend go through that…which was honestly surprising to me. I'd noticed myself getting attached to the people around me, but I hadn't been wanting to change anything because I cared about any of them. I was still guilty about Grandma, sure, but my decision to change things had ultimately been a selfish one. If I was going to have to live through what happened in this world, why not try to make things better, so that a lot of the crappy things that happened in canon wouldn't affect me?

I knew that that idea was dumb, that if I'd really wanted to avoid all the coming craziness I could have plotted a way to escape the village and taken up residence elsewhere, as far from the events of canon as possible. I supposed…I suppose that the idea of being the hero, being someone who could make a difference, still appealed to me. The idea of being remembered as someone important instead of being forgotten...it still tempted me. So, yeah, selfish. I was self-aware enough to realize that, but couldn't bring myself to care enough to try and change it. In that vein, I guess I'd also still been thinking of these people as characters in a story, not real people. Now though, seeing Neji's covered forehead, I felt my resolve firm up. I did care about these people now, and if I had any say in it, their lives would end up a hell of a lot better by the time I was done meddling.

"We should move along, right? I thought you were excited to give Hinata-chan your present, Yume." Mama's voice drew me out of my thoughts, and I released Ino to move over to her side and latch on again. I grinned up at her brightly when she laughed, but let her usher me and Neji forward along the path as the rest followed us. I caught Neji's hand as we moved, and when his eyes met mine I gave his hand a gentle squeeze and smiled at him. It was all the support I could offer now, because we were in the center of the Hyuuga compound and I wasn't supposed to know about the Caged Bird Seal, but it would have to do. He smiled back at me slightly, looking sort of confused but also appreciative. At least the Hyuuga mask had cracked for the moment.

"There you are, Neji. Do not go running off like that without telling me why first," A gentle, polished voice said as we turned the corner and beheld the sight of the Main House. It was the biggest building here, a single storey mansion in the center of the secluded compound, all white paper walls with the Hyuuga Clan symbol etched starkly in black across them. There was dark wooden panelling along the walls and a wraparound, wooden porch, with delicately slanted, grey tiles on the roof that seemed to glimmer in the sunlight that hit them. ' _Which poor Branch House member had to polish the roof this time?_ '

"Sorry, Mother," Neji replied, his mask slipping back in place slightly, but I could still detect a sheepish undertone. His mother, Hyuuga Kanae, glided over to us, dressed in one of her fancier grey kimonos decorated with gliding cranes and bluish waves, and smiled gently. Her long, black hair was done up in a tight bun, and her elegant features, small nose and regal forehead gave off the impression of high class society. She had a detectable baby bump this time around, unlike when I'd seen her last month, and I worried if she was going to be OK.

Had the stress of her husband basically offering himself up as a sacrifice caused some complications in her pregnancy, thus leaving Neji orphaned and in the care of his uncle? She'd never been mentioned in the manga, unlike Hinata's mom, and sometimes I wondered if Kishimoto just hadn't wanted to waste time creating all these 'extra' people, or if he had a penchant for killing off parents. He wouldn't be the first author to do the same. Being a parent was the most dangerous thing to be in fiction.

Pleasantries were exchanged among the adults in the group as we continued our way into the Main House, being led by Kanae this time. Shino had slipped ahead of the other children and was bracketing Neji on his other side, a show of support that had me smiling again. He didn't know what had happened to Neji, but was offering his silent support anyway. Shino was a good friend, to the both of us. Of our trio, I kind of considered him our grounding point. Who knew what kind of things Neji and I would have gotten into without him?

Eventually, we made our way out into the backyard (the Hyuuga Main House was _giant_ ). Hiashi and Hizashi were already there, speaking quietly, while several Branch House Members flitted about, depositing trays of delicately arranged food and drinks on the tables that had been set up. Hinata and her mom were nowhere in sight, but that wasn't entirely unusual. It often took some coaxing on the part of her mother to get Hinata to come along and spend time with us.

We all deposited our presents on a table that already held several carefully wrapped boxes, and the adults moved over to greet Hiashi and Hizashi while the rest of us sort of stood around awkwardly. There was some uneasiness in the air, as always happened whenever we arrived in the Hyuuga compound. The place was so stiff and formal it felt odd to act like a typical child, like you were breaking some unspoken rule by even attempting to be loud or play or anything like that. Besides, Hinata wasn't out yet. This was meant to be a birthday party for her, so it would be rude to begin without her.

"Welcome, everyone," A kind voice called out, and I turned to see Hyuuga Hikari, Hinata's mom and Hiashi's wife, step out of the house, Hinata clinging to her side. Her long, dark purple hair was down today, framing her elegant face, and she was dressed in a lilac kimono, white snowflakes swirling across it. Hinata was dressed in a matching yukata, her dark blue bangs pinned back with a white clip in a similar style to my own. I grinned broadly and immediately marched over, followed by Neji and Shino, as the adults once again resumed the process of greeting their newest addition. Ino trailed along behind us, having left Chouji and Shikamaru to their staking out of one of the tables of food.

"Happy birthday, Hinata-hime," I greeted, bowing as I'd been instructed to by Mama. The system of how bows worked, the proper angle at which one was supposed to be at differing between what rank one held (both among the clan system and the shinobi system), the times when a bow was considered proper and not, and so on and so forth, was irritatingly complex. I was still learning some things, but anything related to the Hyuuga I had basically already memorized. I didn't want them thinking anything of me that might end up reflecting badly on Neji because we were friends.

Hinata kind of squeaked, matching my bow and whispering her thanks. The others around me followed suit, Neji having to bow deeper than the rest of us because of his rank as a Branch Member. The formal greetings out of the way, I happily grabbed Hinata's hand and led her over to the food tables, where Chouji was still going strong and Shikamaru was watching everything around him with a lazy expression. They greeted Hinata as well, and then I proceeded to drag them all into a game of ninja which lasted us a couple of hours.

Ninja, the favourite game among children in the village, constituted a mash up of the games cops and robbers and capture the flag, with a lot of gratuitous roleplaying thrown in. Chouji and I were the ones who loved this game the most, so we usually managed to get the others mostly involved after a little while. Shikamaru went along with it because Chouji was his best friend, Neji because we usually appointed him a team captain and he liked bossing us around, Shino because Neji and I got into it, and Ino because she usually managed to finagle her way into playing a captured princess. Hinata was cautious about it, because her parents and family were always watching her when we played, but I was always careful to stick her on my team and make sure she was as involved as possible.

The time passed by quickly once we'd managed to start having fun, and with the occasional breaks for food and drinks and to check in with our watchful parents, it wasn't long before it came time for cake and presents. We all picked up our presents from their table, and surrounded Hinata in a little circle as it came time for her to open her gifts. We were all still a little giggly and energized from the game, so the usual Hyuuga atmosphere wasn't interfering just yet.

We went in clockwise order, with Ino going first because she'd put herself on Hinata's left side, while I flanked her right. Hinata flushed prettily, smiling at the hair clip Ino had presented her, and thanked her politely. A Branch House member was on hand to take the unwrapped presents and cart them off who knew where, so as the rest of her gifts were presented we didn't have to worry about any piles of stuff forming or anything.

Much like at my birthday parties, Hinata ended up getting a sizable number of shinobi-based things, mostly varying weapons, equipment, books, and scrolls. She seemed happy enough with them, but her chakra seemed to dim more and more as these types of presents increased in number. It was obvious that they weren't the types of things she'd wanted, but she was getting them anyway.

The pressure on clan heirs and heiresses to become shinobi was huge. Especially in the older noble clans, like the Hyuuga, the Aburame and the Akimichi, the mere idea of a clan heir not wanting to be a shinobi was discarded as being impossible. Unfortunately for Hinata, even though she was a gentle soul, there would be no other choice in a career for her. No matter what it was that she might want for herself, that was to be put aside for the good of the clan.

I clenched my fists slightly at the thought, looking down at the grass in front of me as Hinata continued to politely thank everyone for her gifts. It wasn't often that I let myself be bitter about the place I'd ended up, but sometimes I hated this world. I'd grown up in a world where the freedom to choose your own path was taken for granted by so many, so suddenly losing that had been hard. Sure, I'd managed to make my own choice, but so many other people didn't get that chance.

On top of that, the military propaganda and the way that Konoha just functioned as a whole irritated me some days. People were going out and committing crimes, murders, atrocities, every day, and then coming home and pretending it didn't happen. The civilians were aware of some of the things that their shinobi neighbours got up to, and yet turned a blind eye because, 'it was for the good of the village and its people'. The belief in the 'Will of Fire' and all its nonsense had brainwashed the entirety of the village into thinking in a certain way, and I hated it. Hated it so much, that sometimes I wondered why I even bothered wanting to protect these people, this village, from the future that was coming for them. Was it worth it? Did it even matter? Wouldn't they just continue acting in this way, wouldn't the world continue being like this, even if I did help save it? What was the point of anything, really, if I thought like that?

 _ **Argh**_. All the same, regardless of my occasional resentment, I knew what I needed to do. Knew what I needed to become, knew what I needed to prevent. I wanted a better world for my friends and family, and for Naruto, whether we'd managed to meet yet or not. He didn't deserve all the crap he was set to go through in the years to come, just because he was a 'chosen one'. Sasuke too, for all he was a broody emo for most of the manga, didn't deserve to have to deal with what he'd gone through either. And there were so many other people too, Grandpa, Jiraiya, Gaara, Sakura, Tsunade, Kakashi, and countless others who would end up going through hell and back if I just sat back.

I was sure I would always feel some resentment for the greater world around me, and I would probably always compare it, to some extent, to the world that I had left behind. And while that would bother me, there were things here that I cared about, and that would have to be enough.

I was distracted from my thoughts by Hinata, who had just been presented with the sunflower hair clip that Shino and I had agreed to share as her present from us, and the bright smile that had just lit up her face. Ino was preening slightly, having delivered some speech about what the sunflower meant in regards to flower symbolism. I beamed at Hinata as she thanked Shino and me for the gift, seeming genuinely happy, echoed in her suddenly brighter chakra. As we continued going through the presents, I focused my attention back on the group around me. There would be time to dwell on other things later, after tonight.

* * *

"I'll come by to pick you up in the morning, alright, Yume?" Mama said, and I nodded. The other children around me were receiving similar promises from their parents, but I was still worried. Not so much about the actual sleepover part of what was to come, but the possibility of a break-in during the night. What if the increased security didn't deter any of the Kumo-nin from trying to kidnap Hinata? What if I was offering them up even more targets in the form of my friends?

"We'll be fine, Mama, no worries," I said instead, smiling up at her brightly even as the beginnings of unease and guilt began to roil in my gut. It's not like I could say anything about what might happen. Why would they even believe me if I didn't have any proof? Besides, I had to trust that the three ANBU squads I could currently sense positioned near the main house would suffice against the kidnappers. Or, if things went horribly wrong, they'd probably be able to get off a warning to the rest of the village. I could only hope.

She smiled back, pulled me into a tight hug, and pressed a kiss to the top of my head. I hugged her back just as tightly, and then pulled away. I felt a hand settle itself on my head, and glanced up to see Kana smiling gently down at me.

"Don't worry, Madoka, I'll make sure they don't get up to anything," She said, and I pouted up at her. Mama laughed, and stroked my cheek one more time before getting up from her kneeling position. Shizuko stepped over to her side, and they linked arms before turning to leave. I felt Shino and Neji move to stand on either side of me as we watched the adults walk off, talking and joking amongst each other.

"Well, Hinata-hime, what do you want to do first?" Chouji asked, munching on some fruit that he'd swiped before the tables of food had been cleared when night first began to fall.

"Umm…" She hesitated for a moment, refusing to look at any of us as her cheeks grew steadily redder the longer the silence went on.

"How about we get all of you ready for bed, and then you can spend some time playing in your rooms, all right?" Hikari said, having rejoined us after she finished directing the Branch House attendants to do something or other. There were some groans of protest, mostly from me, but we were led off anyways.

Not too long after, we were all settled in Hinata's room, dressed up in our assorted pyjamas. Hinata and Neji both wore white sleeping yukata, while the rest of us were in an assortment of things like nightgowns (Ino), onesies (Chouji), and t-shirts and flannel pants (me, Shino and Shikamaru). We spent some time talking about random things, ranging from our families to our dreams of the future, while Shikamaru and Shino played shogi in the background. The boys would be sleeping in an adjoining room, but we were planning on sliding the divider open after the adults went to bed, so that we'd all be able to continue talking once lights out was called.

An hour or so later, Kanae and Hikari came in to tell us to go to sleep, and we pretended to go along with it. I could tell that they were both suspicious with the sudden good behaviour, but they seemed willing to overlook it anyways. About two minutes after they left, I rolled off my futon, wrapped my blanket around myself, and marched over to slide open the divider. It opened before I got there, revealing a smiling Neji, and I grinned back at him. Ino and Hinata joined us, and we settled in among the boys' blankets, pillows and futons and continued talking.

As the night continued, everyone began to drift off. We were all still just toddlers, so staying up this far past most of our bedtimes was proving difficult. Hinata was the first to go, followed soon by Chouji and Ino, and not too long after that it was just me.

I sighed quietly, and moved to bring Ino and Hinata back to our side of the room. I roused them enough to help them both stumble back to their beds, but they were both out again almost right after. Wrapping my blanket more tightly around myself, I moved over to the wall and sat down against it, my back to the inner portion of the house. I was going to keep watch for as long as I could handle, sleep be damned. I had a bad feeling about tonight, despite my efforts to prevent what might be coming. Besides, I was the only sensor among us. I'd been working on extending my range for a few months now, and could now sense out to about 50 meters. I'd be able to feel it if someone with a foreign chakra signature was attempting to break in and get near us.

I wasn't sure how much time passed. I must have fallen asleep at some point, because when the alarms first began to go off I was startled awake. I immediately jerked to my feet, casting my senses out as I turned to check on the girls. There was no foreign chakra signature anywhere in the room or near the compound, and both girls had also awoken at the blaring noise coming from outside. The boys were in a similar disheveled state, but all still there, and I felt myself slumping in relief. ' _No kidnapping. But then, why are the alarms going off?_ '

The village-wide alarm system had been installed back before the Third Shinobi World War, and it had certain patterns that it followed, not that I currently knew any of them. From what Grandpa had explained to me when he'd originally taught me about them, based on the codes they blared, they would inform any Konoha shinobi of the general type of the crisis, which ranks would be responding, what type of enemies they might be facing, and so on. Right now, all I knew was that they were loud and constant, and the other kids around me were beginning to grow nervous.

"Children?" A voice called out, yanking open the door to Hinata's room and letting in a sudden flare of light from the hallway. I could hear the pounding of many other pairs of feet down the hallways, and turned to see Hikari standing there, dressed in a sleeping yukata and overrobe, and looking worried. Hinata instantly got to her feet and hurried over to her mother, who kneeled to pull her into a hug. The little Hyuuga princess was sniffling, probably confused by all the alarms, and I could see Hikari doing a quick count of our heads before she let out a relieved sigh.

"What's going on?" Shikamaru asked from behind me, and I turned to see all the boys looking pale and concerned in the light from the hall.

"We are uncertain at the moment, but it would be best if you all came to stay in a more easily defensible position until the alarms end," Another voice answered, male this time, and I glanced back to see Hiashi standing there, frowning at us faintly. I could feel it in his chakra though, the warring relief, concern and anger, and knew that he knew exactly what the alarms meant. Even if I hadn't been able to sense his emotions, there was no way he didn't know. He was a shinobi, he'd studied these things in school, memorized them for times when he might be called to protect the village.

Hizashi and Kanae joined them moments later, and then we were all being gathered and led off to a more secure portion of the main house. There were Hyuuga guards being placed in some of the hallways, and I could sense more movement outside as two of the squads of ANBU positioned themselves directly on the roof of the main house as the third broke off to head out of my range. If I had to guess, it seemed like they were heading towards the Administration center, in the north of town.

It was a couple of hours later, when the sun had been up for an hour or so, that the alarms finally switched to blaring another pattern. The adults around us all relaxed slightly, but I noticed Hikari pulling Hinata into a tighter hug (she'd been holding her since they'd first taken us from our rooms) and Kanae wrapping Neji in a brief hug as well. I glanced between them both, confused, as Hiashi and Hizashi exchanged significant looks over our heads.

Ino, who'd been hugging Shikamaru and Chouji with one arm around each boy since we'd moved here, looked up at the adults, as if for answers. I wanted to say something, ask the adults what was happening, but before I could open my mouth I sensed the arrival of two familiar chakra signatures. My eyes immediately looked up to the ceiling, where I could feel Mama and Daddy on the roof, probably conversing with the other ANBU who'd stayed on site since the alarms had started.

"Sarutobi-hime, your parents are here," a monotone voice said, and I twitched in irritation before turning around to see Sparrow on one knee by the door, which had been opened by one of the Branch House Guards outside. I hadn't even felt her moving, so distracted was I by the arrival of my parents, and my focus on their matching feelings of relief mixed with anger.

"Can we bring Shino home with us too?" I asked tiredly, getting to my feet, and Sparrow shook her head, her short black hair bobbing with the movement.

"His parents will be arriving shortly, as will the parents of the rest of the children," she reported coolly, and I frowned, turning to Shino. He and I had been sharing one of the cushions that had been laid out for us to sit on, but he just smiled at me briefly when our eyes met.

"I will be fine," he said, quietly, and Neji pulled himself from his mother's hug to take up position where I'd been sitting just a moment ago.

"I'll take care of everyone," he promised, and I nodded in response.

"I'll see you guys later, then," I said, shooting everyone a tremulous smile. The bad feeling from earlier hadn't abated, and was currently performing a merry tango in my gut with the guilt that had started to creep in again. What had I caused?

I bowed formally to Hiashi and his wife, less formally to Hizashi and Kanae, thanking them for having me, before I let Sparrow whisk me off. We met up with my parents on the roof, both still in their ANBU garb, masks and all, before we split off to head home.

* * *

A day later, I learned what had happened. Of a young Uchiha child, who had been heading home late from practice, and been grabbed by an intrepid Kumo-nin. Of the frantic search that had ensued for them when they'd not arrived home on time. Of the tracking squad that had been decimated by the contingent of Kumo shinobi who had been here for peace talks, and had betrayed us for a clan's doujutsu. Of the tense fight between ANBU backup and the kidnappers, ending in the death of the little Uchiha. Of how it was all **my fault. All of it. So many dead.**

 **A little kid, dead.**

' _ **What have I done?**_ '

* * *

A/N (Continued): Ahem, so, hey there!

Super long chapter, I know, but there was a lot to cover. I hope it was at least interesting, and I promise, our sort-of cliffhanger (?) will be covered in the next chapter.

For acknowledgements, the sleepover idea was borrowed with permission from Kyogre, who included it in their story 'Do Over', which is hilarious and awesome and you guys should give it a look. The alarm system is Silver Queen's, and I give her all credit for it. Everything else should be mine, but if I missed an acknowledgment I apologize and will endeavor to fix it once I find it.

It's looking like I'll be doing weekly updates from this point onward, as school starts to kick up again. So, look forward to Thursdays! I already do, and now, I'm off to watch some nerdy ass voice actors play Dungeons and Dragons.

Hope you guys have a great day! :)


	5. Intro Arc: Chasing Clouds

A/N: Welcome, all, to a new chapter of Equilibrium! Weekly updates are looking like they're going to continue to be a thing, but next week I'll be super busy Thursday, so expect an early update. Probably on Wednesday. There's another Author's note concerning next week's update at the bottom of the chapter.

So, to get on with it so you guys can read, I hope you all like the new chapter, and enjoy!

Naruto still belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

Chapter 4-Intro Arc: Chasing Clouds

"We all do things we desperately wish we could undo. Those regrets just become part of who we are, along with everything else. To spend time trying to change that, well, it's like chasing clouds."- Libba Bray

* * *

I insisted we go to the funeral. And the memorials. Mama and Daddy were worried about me, I could tell, but I couldn't explain anything to them. What could I say? That in my efforts to prevent the kidnapping of one person and death of another, I had brought about the kidnapping and death of a young child, and the deaths of several other people? It was impossible to explain without telling them of my knowledge of the future, of my reincarnation, so I just stayed quiet. Quiet, depressed, and grieving.

* * *

The day of the Uchiha's funeral dawned cold and miserable. Mama bundled me up in a thicker winter jacket, black to match the rest of my funeral clothes, and we all trooped off to the Uchiha district. Grandpa joined us halfway there, flanked by two of the Elders and being followed stealthily by several squads of ANBU. They joined up with the two squads we'd had guarding us, and we made our way through the streets. People nodded to us as we passed by, but no pleasantries were exchanged. They knew where we were going.

I was surprised when the first person joined our group. I was even more surpised when others joined us, and by the time we'd reached the gates of the Uchiha compound, we had added several dozen more people to our procession. The Uchiha gate guards had looked astonished at the size of the group we were bringing with us, but Grandpa had assured them that we were all here for the same reason, and they'd let us in without a word.

As we walked through the compound towards the shrine where the ceremony was being held, I could feel the stares of the Uchiha on us. Mostly, they felt surprised. Some seemed touched, but others still seemed…angry about the whole thing. Like they resented us for being there. I glanced up at Grandpa for a moment to see sadness on his face, and corrected my thought. They resented Grandpa for being there. ' _They should be angry at me, not him. I did this._ '

The first part of the actual funeral ceremony lasted about an hour, although it felt like I was drifting through most of it. I'd taken one look at the picture they'd had of the girl who had died, heard the name Uchiha Izumi, and begun inwardly apologizing to her. To her mother, who had begun crying silently halfway through it all. To the entirety of the clan around us, who'd been forced into this position because of me. And just to the world in general, for thinking that I could change things with no consequence. ' _I didn't know. I'm so sorry, Izumi._ '

There was some other ceremony after that, but I paid no more attention to that than I had to the funeral. Daddy had picked me up at some point and was balancing me on one hip, but I couldn't muster up the energy to say anything about it. Grandpa, the Elders, and my parents were busy exchanging condolences with the grieving mother when I felt the first prickle at the back of my neck. Frowning, pulled slightly out of my stupor, I carefully looked around.

Almost directly behind me, there were several familiar faces. Shibi and Shizuko, Shino held in her arms and bundled up as much as I was, were speaking quietly to a family of Uchiha. Looking a little closer, I realized with a start that I recognized the group they were talking to. The man was Uchiha Fugaku, looking as stern as ever, and the woman Uchiha Mikoto, serene and beautiful, one arm carrying a black-haired toddler that could only be Sasuke. To her other side stood her other child, Itachi.

Itachi felt…he felt nearly as empty and cold as I did, and I had to wonder what his connection to Izumi had been. His chakra was so still and sluggish it hurt to concentrate on, so I didn't. It was possible he and Izumi had been friends. Itachi's early years hadn't been explored much in the manga, so I couldn't say with any certainty that they hadn't been.

' _Great. Another person I've managed to hurt with my carelessness._ ' I sighed quietly, and felt the prickling again. Glancing up again, I noticed a large, wolf like creature watching me, and froze up. It was at the side of a tall, feral looking woman, with long, bushy brown hair and red triangle tattoos on both of her cheeks, as well as red markings over her eyes. She was dressed in funeral clothes, same as the rest of us, and was now standing at Shibi's other side, two children standing in front of her.

They'd just moved over to join the group, but I recognized the boy almost immediately. He couldn't be anyone but Kiba. He already had his tattoos in place, and was wearing his signature jacket from the manga, even though it wasn't black and it was too big for him. The girl standing with them must have been his older sister, though I didn't remember her name. There were three puppies arranged around her ankles, but they were acting subdued. The girl was radiating sadness as well, not at the same level as Itachi and I, but close enough. She must have been a friend of Izumi too, then.

There was suddenly a huffing noise from beneath me, and I slowly looked down to see that the giant wolf-thing had made his way over to me. On closer inspection, he wore an eyepatch over one of his eyes, and one of his ears appeared torn. Mama and Daddy weren't reacting to his presence, so I carefully reached down and patted his head. His one visible eye closed, and his tail started thumping, and I couldn't stop the tiny smile that crossed my face. I loved animals, always had.

"Daddy, put me down please," I said, and he looked over his shoulder at the wolf before chuckling and setting me down as instructed. His chakra flickered in surprise, and worry, but he also seemed…I don't know, hopeful maybe?

"Be nice to the ninken, Yume," He said, ruffling my hair once before turning back to the conversation he'd been having with some other Uchiha that had joined us when I wasn't paying attention. I couldn't muster up the energy to figure out why Daddy was trying so hard to be nonchalant, so I just shrugged and padded off after the ninken. It had moved back over to its original group, and I hesitated for a moment until Shizuko spotted me and set Shino down. I moved over to his side, and he quietly reached out and took my hand. I looked down at our joined hands, looked back up at his shades, and gave him a brief, tremulous smile.

"Are you OK? Why do I ask? Because you are not acting your usual self," Shino said, pushing up on the bridge of his sunglasses as he said so, and I couldn't help the little giggle that escaped me at the action.

"I'm…fine," I said, trying to shove down the overwhelming guilt and grief for the moment so that I might put up a front, at least in front of my friend. I could go back to being depressed when there weren't people watching my every move, as the Uchiha had been doing since we'd arrived in their compound. The Inuzuka woman was watching me as well, but there was amusement in her eyes instead of the variety of more negative emotions I'd been picking up from the compound's residents. I bowed in greeting to the group of them, and there were nods in response.

"Well, Hime-chan, this your first time at a funeral?" She asked me, her voice coming out gruff and a smirk on her face. I met her eyes briefly, the flicker of irritation at the nickname gone before it could really materialize, and saw a brief flash of understanding from her.

"No," I replied, and looked back down at the ground. Shino squeezed my hand, and I squeezed back slightly.

"Leave her be, Tsume. Why? Because Yumeko-chan has always been sensitive to the emotional atmosphere," Shizuko said, scolding lightly. Tsume let out a little laugh and held up her hands, palms out.

"Didn't mean anything by it, Shi-chan. Just a question," She said, and I felt the large ninken's nose on my neck before I could stop it. I jumped slightly, trying to get away from the cold feeling, and it huffed in amusement. ' _When did it even move?!_ ' I shot it an accusatory look, and it gave me a wolfish grin.

"Inuzuka-sama, perhaps having your ninken antagonize the child isn't helping," Mikoto spoke up, sounding cultured and refined, but I could detect the barest hint of amusement in her chakra. Fugaku's face hadn't so much as twitched, but the feeling of his chakra echoed his wife's.

"Tch. Kuromaru is just trying to cheer her up, is all. You can see how down the little Hime is, same as me," Tsume replied, crossing her arms and grinning. I frowned at the ninken, at Kuromaru, and it cocked its head at me.

"Kuromaru is good at cheering me up! He's real good at playing ninja!" The young Kiba piped up, and I glanced over at him. He was smiling at me brightly, and I could just about feel the energy radiating off him. He was definitely not used to all this pomp and ceremony, and was probably looking for an excuse to play. I could almost picture a little tail wagging behind him, like he was an overexcited puppy.

"Ninja? Mother, could I play with them?" Another childish voice said, and I met Sasuke's eyes as he shot me a fleeting, hesitant smile. ' _Ugh, my heart. Why do all of the Rookie Twelve need to be so cute as kids?_ '

"We are still in the middle of the funerary ceremonies," Fugaku said, a frown on his face and his tone final. He was watching me oddly, though I couldn't place why. There was something like a conflict in his chakra, though with the way the emotions were mixing and the way random patterns were firing, I couldn't make a guess as to what was going on in his head. Sasuke slumped sadly, and I noticed some life flicker briefly into Itachi's eyes.

"There is not much left to do though, Father. I could take the younger children to one of the training grounds and watch them until the ceremonies are finished," Itachi said, and Fugaku glanced over at his oldest boy, his frown softening slightly. His chakra firmed up then, and Mikoto reached over and placed a hand on her husband's shoulder.

"I could go along with Itachi-san, too. Me and the Haimaru brothers can keep them out of trouble," The girl Inuzuka said, and before I could protest, I was being whisked away to play ninja.

"Wait, hold on, I have to-" I began, but was cut off.

"Not to worry, Yume-chan. I'll inform your parents," Grandpa said, having silently snuck up on the lot of us. To my slight amusement, all the adults jumped a little at his presence, and began the customary bowing and greeting of the Hokage. The Uchihas felt resentful, much the same way many of their clansmen did. Grandpa waved it off, though, and smiled at me brightly. I could sense the worry in him, so I sighed and let myself be dragged away by an energetic Kiba and a determined looking Shino.

How out of it had I been lately? I didn't remember much of how I'd been after Grandma had died, but if I had to guess, this time might have been worse. I still wasn't over it, still felt so cold and tired I didn't know how to handle it. Izumi's death was on no one's hands but my own, because my carelessness and lack of foresight had resulted in her death. I should have just tried to secretly warn Grandpa about what the Kumo-nin were planning, instead of taking matters into my own hands.

Our group, led by Itachi and a beaming Sasuke, eventually made our way to a large clearing surrounded by forest. There were a couple of training dummies set up in a corner, but besides them it was entirely empty. The two Uchiha brothers turned to us, Sasuke nearly bouncing in place.

"Big brother, you need to be on my team!" He demanded, looking over at Itachi, who shot him a somewhat indulgent smile in return.

"Of course, Sasuke. But that means Inuzuka-san should be on the other team, so that the odds might be…fairer," He said, and the girl Inuzuka puffed up immediately.

"You're going down today, Uchiha! Just you watch! Today, the reign of Hana and the Haimaru brothers begins!" She said, letting out an affected evil laugh.

We split into our respective teams, Kiba and Shino with Hana, and me joining Itachi and Sasuke. Kuromaru was to play the objective for the day, a captured daimyo whom our team was out to rescue, while the other team oversaw his delivery to an objective point at the other side of the training grounds. Itachi and Hana briefly went over what we were and weren't allowed to do, most of which was restrictions on jutsu and weapons on the two older children, before we split off.

Suffice to say, it was a grueling battle, with much posturing on both sides. Mostly from Kiba and Sasuke, but they could be excused because they were both still just children. Itachi was the deciding factor in the battle, from the start, easily outmaneuvering Hana's varied attempts to keep him at bay. He was just so fast and stealthy, none of the members of the opposite team stood a chance. Before they'd even realized it, he'd managed to manipulate them into his trap, and the game was over.

By the time we'd caught up and saw what had happened, Sasuke and I ended up laughing so hard we had to lean on each other for support, as Itachi had strung up both Kiba and Hana in makeshift traps from the trees. They were both hollering at the top of their lungs, demanding to be let down, and Kuromaru was whuffling in amusement. Shino was perched on the ninken's back, the Haimaru brothers surrounding them, but they'd apparently surrendered as soon as we'd trapped Kiba and Hana.

"Izumi would have liked this. Us, finally getting along," Hana said, smiling as she swung upside down, held up by her ankle. There was an abrupt silence at that, and my laughter cut off as the guilt surged forward once more. I'd forgotten momentarily in the thrill of the game, but now that I was focused on it again the feelings were nearly overwhelming. I pulled away from Sasuke and sunk into the grass, suddenly exhausted.

Itachi made a quiet noise of agreement, and moved to gently let Hana and Kiba down. Hana landed on her hands and flipped forward into a standing position, easily catching her wayward brother, who grumbled over the loss. She had a sad smile on her face, but it was a smile all the same. There were a few moments of silence, as Hana set Kiba down and Shino made his way over to me, settling by my side in the grass. He leaned into me, offering quiet support, but I was still struggling to get the guilt and sadness under control.

"I've decided I'm going to become a Jounin, like she would have. This way, I can protect the village in her place," Hana said, breaking the silence, and Itachi slowly raised an eyebrow at her.

"What of your dreams?" He asked, and Hana shrugged.

"I mean, yeah, I'd still like to be a vet, but Izumi was my best friend! I want to honour her, even if she's gone." Itachi looked contemplative at that, glancing over at his brother, who'd noticed my somber mood and was watching me concernedly.

"I believe I understand. Jounin…hmm," Itachi said, his eyes alight with a forming idea. His chakra was all over the place, but slowly forming up into resolve.

"Yumeko-chan?" Shino whispered, gently nudging my shoulder, but I refused to look up.

"What was she like?" I suddenly burst out, curious, and the two older children looked over at me. I was still looking down at the ground, but the guilt had begun to give way to careful plotting.

"She was the strongest. And the kindest," Hana piped up. "She is…was my best friend. And for her, I'm going to do whatever I can to take up the mantle she would have, if those Kumo bastards hadn't taken her away." There was the sound of clenching fists, and a reprimanding noise from Itachi.

"She really believed in the Will of Fire," Itachi began, and I looked up as he moved over to kneel in front of me and Shino. Sasuke shifted over so he was bracketing me from the other side, still watching me worriedly. "She wanted to protect this village, and the people in it. It always drove her to try harder than most, and I respected her for that."

Well…perhaps my screw-up would have a better outcome than I'd anticipated. The effect this would have on Itachi in the long term was something I would need to monitor, but perhaps the drive to become a Jounin instead of enter into ANBU would help in the end?

"We're not going to forget her. Never. But we're all shinobi. The best way to deal with her death is take it and use it as motivation to become better, so we never have to lose someone the same way again," Itachi continued, and he and I locked eyes in brief understanding. "I…if I had been stronger, faster, smarter, I might have been able to do something. But I wasn't, and for that I will always wonder if maybe she might have lived if I had been.

"Regret can dull a shinobi, make us forget what it is we fight for. Make us forget in our belief in the Will of Fire, make us forget that there are other people that we love and cherish and want to protect. That there is a whole village that needs to be cherished and protected. So, we take our regrets, we accept them as things that cannot be changed, use them as fuel to change ourselves for the better, and keep moving forward. That's what…Izumi-chan would have wanted, and even though some part of me will always be sad that she's gone, I can still keep going on."

"Yume-chan, it's going to be OK," Shino said, wrapping his arms around me, and I realized with a start that I was crying. I hadn't cried for Izumi, not yet. I hadn't been able to, as some part of me had considered it blasphemous, but bottling up my negative feelings definitely hadn't been helping.

"I know," I choked out, reaching up to wipe away the worst of the tears with my sleeve, feeling a little better at the sudden release of emotion. It wasn't wrong for me to be feeling sad, to feel depressed for causing the death of an innocent girl. Nothing was wrong with how I was reacting, but if I didn't learn from this lesson about my carelessness, then Izumi's death would be basically meaningless. There was suddenly a warm presence at my back as Kuromaru settled in behind me and Shino, offering his own support.

"Hey, hey, it's OK!" Hana said, moving over to hug me, pulling in Shino in the process, but Sasuke escaped to hide behind his brother. Kiba and the Haimaru brothers were now standing awkwardly to one side, looking like none of them had any idea how to handle the situation. Hana also immediately began chastising Itachi for making me cry.

It wasn't his fault, however. I'd…needed this. I needed someone to help talk me through things. After all, that was how people went through transformations of character in this world, wasn't it? Someone, usually Naruto, talked at them until they learned the error of their ways and changed. The idea was funny, especially because it was Itachi of all people who'd helped me begin to sort through things, but I appreciated it all the same. I would always have some regrets about Izumi's death, would always wonder if maybe some other plan would have prevented her death, but I couldn't let the regret finish me.

I had saved Hizashi's life, had prevented my friend from growing up without his father and possibly his mother, and had prevented any trauma on the part of Hinata had she been kidnapped. There were things that I had done right, so I just had to do what Itachi had said. I needed to accept the unseen, bad consequences as actions I couldn't change, and keep moving forward. I had plans and goals to reach, and nothing was going to stop me now.

' _Next time, Izumi, I swear I'll be stronger. Smarter. I'll never let anyone else die because of me ever again._ ' (Childish promises. I was always good at those.)

* * *

I went home in a lighter mood, and with four new friends to worry over. Kiba and Sasuke, once I'd stopped crying, had been perfectly nice to me as we made our way back to our parents. Hana had promised me that if I needed to talk, she'd be more than happy to listen, and Itachi had nodded along to show he'd be willing as well.

A few days after the funeral, it occurred to me that Izumi would have died anyway, in the Uchiha Massacre. Also, that I'd been playing with the boy that one day might have killed her, the boy who'd comforted me and helped me start to feel better. Well…unless Obito had gotten to her first. That didn't make me feel better, especially when I began to worry over what was still to come. I'd already resolved to keep a closer eye on the Uchiha clan, so I immediately went to Mama and convinced her to let me invite Itachi and Sasuke to my birthday party in a few weeks. Well, I say convinced, but I'd only needed to ask once before she agreed to it, looking delighted at the idea. I wondered what that was supposed to mean, if it was in response to me acting less like a zombie, or if it was because I'd specifically asked for the Uchiha?

Two weeks passed after that, and Asuma finally came home from whatever mission he'd been on at the beginning of January. I immediately had him take me out to walk through the village, to the approval of both Mama and Daddy. I'd been better since the funeral, but I'd still noticed my family keeping a more watchful eye on me than they had before. My depression had concerned them enough that I now had almost constant watchers, and the restriction on my freedom was starting to irritate me.

I didn't think I was going to go back to the numb state I'd entered after I'd discovered what had happened to Izumi, but I supposed that there was no way my family would know that unless I told them. That would lead to a whole bunch of uncomfortable questions, however, so I just put up with the increased babysitters. They wouldn't last forever, I'd reasoned, and it wasn't like having two squads of ANBU watching me was that bad. They still mostly stayed out of the way.

As I spent time in the village, I gathered a lot of gossip from both civilians and shinobi alike. I wasn't sure how much of it was true, or how much had been planted by certain groups in the village, but it was interesting all the same. Through my eavesdropping, I learned a couple of things about the Kumo-nin, one of which was that plans linking the Head Ninja to the kidnapping of Izumi had been discovered among his belongings.

There was another rumour that stated that evidence about a possible secondary kidnapping had also been found, with plans and blueprints for the Hyuuga compound having been found. People usually went quiet when they noticed me paying attention to that particular rumour, but their chakra gave them away. The outrage and fury at the mere idea that the Kumo contingent thought they could get away with kidnapping the young clan heirs of several shinobi clans in Konoha had people even more up in arms against them. I mean, when the Kumo-nin had first arrived here, the general populace had hated them pretty badly. Now, it was a thousand times worse, tainting the ambient chakra in the air so badly that sometimes it felt hard to breathe.

The Kumo-nin had all been captured alive after the incident, despite the losses of an ANBU squad and Izumi in the fight, and were being held somewhere within the village. No one, at least among the gossips I'd met, knew where, which was probably better for them. The sheer levels of hatred being directed at them would have led to a murder/revenge attempt sooner rather than later, if people had had access to them.

I'd also noticed a general uplift in positive opinion towards the Uchiha clan, due in part because of sympathy for the death of Izumi, partly because of Grandpa's show of support during the funeral, and because, apparently, the Police Force had begun taking in applicants who weren't Uchiha. From what I'd gathered from the gossips, it seemed to be because they wanted to extend patrols in areas where they'd previously been light (like the one where Izumi had originally been taken). It seemed that the village was standing united, both the Uchiha and everyone else, against the threat that was Kumo. The hatred was providing a good unifying factor among people who had previously been against the Uchiha, for whatever reason.

Some more time passed, and the Kumo-nin involved in what was coming to be called the 'Uchiha Incident' were executed. The villagers had bayed for blood, and they were listened to. The executions were public, but I'd not attended. Neither had my parents. I was still being watched, but usually only by Asuma and my original ANBU squad. Asuma hadn't gone off on another long mission since he'd first gotten back, and I think it was because my parents had asked him to. I liked my uncle, so it wasn't like I minded. Mama and Daddy could get busy, so spending time with Asuma and his friends was a good enough substitute.

I learned, after the fact and based on the shinobi gossips, that the Raikage had disavowed the actions of his ninja and basically handed them over to Grandpa to do with as he pleased. Thus, the executions. The mounting evidence against them, and the fact that the Kumo-nin had entirely failed at their original objective of acquiring Hinata, had probably been the push that led to this change. Where before, Kumo had had some deniability and used that to their advantage with the death of their Head Ninja, the circumstances were different now. I think we were still worried about going to war, but with the Uchiha solidly on the side of Konoha, we stood a much better chance than we would have otherwise.

We quietly celebrated Grandpa's birthday in February, just us, him, and Asuma. I worried over how he was dealing with everything that had happened. He seemed alright whenever I saw him, but I could tell he was tired. Grandpa was probably busy trying to prevent another war from breaking out, and probably juggling all the different factions in Konoha in the meantime. I wondered, also, how Danzou was taking the increased goodwill towards the Uchiha. He'd hated them, hadn't he? Maybe some of the few negative rumours I still heard about the Uchiha were coming from him? Perhaps they were some small retaliation, when openly standing against the Uchiha clan right now would make it seem as if he was behind the times and as if he was standing against the unity of the village.

I shelved my thoughts on Danzou for a while, as my own birthday rolled around and ended up being a much bigger event than in years past. My social circle had expanded since last year, so now I had both Inuzuka children, their mother, their respective ninken, and the Uchihas in attendance. Also, Hinata and her parents, which was a bit of a surprise. They hadn't come before, but as I noticed the posturing between Hiashi and Fugaku, it became slightly clearer. They were totally here to try and prove which of their clans was better.

The adults in attendance all mostly found it amusing, even Grandpa, and I realized with a start that they all knew each other well. As I watched them interacting, Inoichi joking around with Shibi and Tsume, Chouza attempting to save Shikaku from his wife's wrath as his own wife laughed in the background, Mikoto, Shizuko, Hikari, Kanae and my Mama all sharing stories of their days as genin, and Hizashi attempting to keep the peace between his brother and Fugaku, I couldn't help but smile. ' _Maybe…maybe my existence isn't such a bad thing. This definitely wouldn't have been a thing in the original_ _ **Naruto**_ _canon._ '

"Yumeko-hime, whatcha looking at?" Kiba asked me, nudging my shoulder with his, and I jumped in surprise. I immediately shot him an irritated look, because I still hated that nickname, but he just grinned at me mischievously. I rolled my eyes, and cast a look around the room to search for some other reason as to why I might be distracted. Noticing Daddy's sudden absence, I grinned.

"Nothing. Just wondering where my Daddy disappeared to," I lied, calling out in a purposefully loud voice. He appeared from the kitchen, a sheepish smile on his face and Asuma trailing behind him, my uncle shaking his head.

"Your cake is safe, I swear! We were just checking on it, right, little brother?" He said, turning to Asuma, who shot him a look.

"Not to worry, Youthful Yumeko-chan! I am still guarding the cake from your father, exactly as requested!" Gai piped up from the kitchen, and I grinned. Sticking him in charge of cake guarding duty had been a brilliant plan on my part, if I did say so myself.

"Troublesome. Gai-san is here again?" Shikamaru said, having appeared on my other side out of the crowd of children that were currently racing around the living room. From what I'd gathered, Hinata and Ino had convinced Hana to let them ride on Kuromaru's back, and now she was busy trying to keep them from rampaging through the house. Itachi had joined her because Sasuke had insisted only his big brother could save the day, sparking an entirely one-sided argument between the two older children about which of them was more capable of handling toddlers. Spoiler alert, Hana thought she was better.

Neji, Shino and Chouji were all watching carefully, ready to step in and save the girls should the need arise. The Haimaru brothers weren't helping matters, yelping, prancing about, and making a general nuisance of themselves as they tried to encourage Hana in her argument or drive Kuromaru further into the house. The older ninken was just playing along for the time being, but I was sure he could be trusted to take care of Ino and Hinata. Well…pretty sure.

"As always. Gai-san is wonderful," I replied, grinning, and Shikamaru gave me a deadpan look. "Besides, he's one of the few people who actually stand a chance at preventing my Daddy from stealing cake, like he does every year. Namiashi-san, Shiranui-san, and Ebisu-sensei are keeping him company in the meantime, so it's not like he'll be bored," I added, and proceeded to stick a foot out as one of the Haimaru brothers came charging around the corner of the couch, a ribbon in his mouth and an irritated Ino racing after him. He noticed it, began to slow down, and I immediately stepped forward and scooped him up. The puppy grumbled at me, but released his prize when I gently tugged on it.

"Sorry about that, Ino-chan. You sure you want it back now, though?" I asked, holding out the slightly slobbery purple ribbon to her, and she sighed.

"I'll ask my Mommy to fix it when we get home. When she's feeling better," She said, and I nodded. Inoichi's wife had come down with the flu, and had elected to remain at home rather than infect any of us sensitive children.

"Nice catch," Kiba praised, grinning, and immediately pulled the puppy from my arms to march him over to his sister.

"When did you stop using Kuromaru as a giant pony?" I asked Ino, watching Shikamaru flop down onto one of the nearest cushions out of the corner of my eye, and pretend to start napping. Just in time too, as a frantic Sasuke came running past, in pursuit of another one of the Haimaru brothers, this one looking like he had wrapping paper in his mouth. Itachi was following at a more sedate pace behind them.

"When Hinata-hime said she wanted to get snacks. I wanted grapes before Chouji-kun ate them all," She replied, and I smiled slightly. Ino was on a 'purple kick' this week, and according to her father didn't want anything to do with anything that wasn't her favourite colour. He and his wife, before she'd gotten sick, had been forced to get creative when it came time for meals. He was currently sharing his woes from the ordeal with Tsume, who was laughing her ass off.

"Like the grapes he's eating right now?" I asked, pointing over her shoulder. She whirled, let out an indignant shriek, and marched over to the Akimichi boy. He looked like a deer caught in the headlights, the offending grapes in one hand, the other raised to grab a few of the dumplings that his mother had brought along for today. Hinata was standing behind him, giggling, as Neji stood over her shoulder, a silent sentinel currently filling a plate of food for the Hyuuga princess.

"You're safe now," I called over my shoulder, and Shikamaru blinked blearily up at me.

"You do that a lot," He said, and I shrugged.

"Distracting Ino-chan isn't hard. You're usually better at it than I am," I said, and he shrugged in response. We exchanged grins, and I flopped down beside him, joined a moment later by Shino, who'd been attempting to help Hana wrangle puppies up till that moment.

"Hana-san does not know where the third of the Haimaru brothers has disappeared to," Shino informed us, and I sighed.

"What do you want to be bet he's in-" Before I could finish, there was the sudden sound of an excess of Youth from the kitchen, and a flustered Kurenai came running out, a wet puppy held out in front of her. It was entirely purple, and I had to struggle not to start laughing. I bet Ino would like that one a lot better now.

"Hana-chan, I found the third one. He managed to spill some of the juice before we caught him, though," She said, and a relieved Hana came running over, a puppy in each arm.

"Bad boy! How many times have I told you, no mayhem in the Sarutobi compound!" She barked, and the puppy looked appropriately chastised. I could sense a brief flicker of mischief in its chakra though, and I rolled my eyes. The ninken had enough of their own chakra that their emotions were easy enough for me to read, unlike Shino's kikaichu. Though, I wasn't certain that those bugs had feelings. Nor did I particularly want to ask, because that was all kinds of creepy.

"The puppies trying to take over the world again?" Neji asked, having escorted Hinata over to the three of us during the chaos. She primly settled herself on one of the cushions across from me, and handed me a cookie. I thanked her and began munching on it in lieu of answering.

"When aren't they?" Kiba countered, dragging another cushion over and plopping down beside Shino. Hinata handed him a cookie from as well, and he beamed at her before devouring it in two bites. Sasuke, Ino and Chouji soon joined us, Itachi settling in between his brother and Neji, and Kuromaru meandering over to settle behind me, Shino and Kiba. I leaned into the ninken and ruffled his ears, and he let out an amused huff.

"I feel bad for Hana-san sometimes. Those puppies are pure evil," Chouji said, and Ino nodded furiously in response.

"Do you remember last week, at the Aburame compound, when they stole all that honey?" Ino asked, and I immediately started giggling. I had helped them out with that one, not that anyone else knew. Or, at least, not yet. The look I was getting from Shikamaru told me that he had guessed my part in the fiasco, he just didn't have any proof yet.

"It was sort of funny, Ino-chan," Hinata said, quietly, but she wasn't stuttering or hesitating. Ino had taken her under her wing after her birthday, and the Hyuuga princess had started becoming a little more confident in the past two months.

"What was funny?" Came an amused voice from over our heads, and we all glanced up to see Grandpa standing there, leaning on the wooden cane he'd taken to using lately.

"Nothing," I said, cutting off Sasuke as he opened his mouth to begin to explain and shooting him a look. He grumbled, but nodded. He hadn't actually been present during the incident in question, but Kiba and Chouji had told him about it today.

"Hokage-sama, what brings you here?" Neji asked politely, and Grandpa smiled a little.

"It is my house, Neji-chan," Grandpa joked, and I fought the urge to snicker. "Actually, I wanted to deliver my student's gift to Yumeko, but it appears that it will be delayed. He assures me that you will enjoy the book on fuuinjutsu regardless of its arrival date."

"A book on the sealing arts?" Itachi asked, sounding interested, and Grandpa nodded.

"Grandpa, does Ebisu-sensei know anything about fuuinjutsu? To get me started once the book does arrive?" I asked. Grandpa frowned slightly, stroking his chin as he paused in thought.

"I believe he knows the basics, yes. You can ask him at your next training session this week," He replied, and I nodded. Seals could come in handy, if I couldn't convince Naruto to learn them for that thought, the lack of a Naruto sighting this year either had me feeling irritated. The village wasn't that big! How had I not found his stupid orphanage yet?!

"Time for cake!" Mama called, clapping her hands, and getting up from her spot between Hikari and Mikoto. The children around me cheered, immediately all rising to their feet and stampeding over to one of the tables that had been left empty for this exact purpose. Shikamaru, Grandpa and I hadn't moved though, Shika because he was comfortable and lazy, Grandpa because he wasn't the biggest fan of sweets, and me because I suddenly felt as if I'd forgotten something.

I looked around the room, and cast out my senses, but I couldn't place what it was that had me worried. The Haimaru brothers were being watched by Kuromaru, so it wasn't them, and everyone else was where I'd last seen them, adults and children alike. Finally, I shrugged, because there wasn't anything I could do about it if I didn't know what was wrong, and got to my feet before offering Shikamaru a hand. He grumbled, but let me pull him up, and we walked over to the others as Mama came out of the kitchen, cake container in hand, being trailed by Gai and the other teenagers that had been keeping him company.

When the box was opened and a giant chunk of the cake was revealed to have been missing, Daddy nowhere in sight, the feeling became clear. Mama looked furious, and I had to fight not to start laughing. ' _Ooh, he's in trouble_ **.** '

* * *

The months continued to pass, time seeming to speed up as I suddenly found myself with even more to do than usual. There were still the weekly playdates, which had expanded to include the rest of my friends and other compounds to visit, but now I spent a decent amount of time training with Ebisu-sensei. I'd been spending time being tutored by him for a year now, but we were going to be starting the academy in three years, and I was bored enough now that my parents had decided to let me start my shinobi-based tutoring early.

He and Nanami-sensei, a Hyuuga that my Mama was good friends with, rotated teaching me the basics. Ebisu dealt with things like strategy, taijutsu, the Academy Three jutsu, and conditioning, while Nanami-sensei worked with me on my chakra control and began teaching me the basics of what I would need to know to start studying iryou-ninjutsu. Calligraphy had been added on top of that, both of my teachers instructing me in it so that I could start learning fuuinjutsu. Neither were masters of the art, but were combining what knowledge they did have to train me.

"All right, Yumeko-kun, what's the correct hand seal combination for the Henge?" Ebisu-sensei asked, pushing up on his glasses as he stared down at me. We were currently in the Sarutobi clan private training grounds in the back of the compound, the place I'd wandered to once as a baby and had my suspicions about the _Naruto_ universe confirmed.

"Dog, Boar and Ram," I recited, flicking through the respective hand signs as fast as I could. Even though I was only four, the level of flexibility and energy that I had was kind of unprecedented, at least in comparison to how I'd been as a child in my first life. I'd been sort of training for years now, but I still sometimes marvelled at how much easier things were in this new body. Even though I'd managed to master enhancing my limbs with chakra, after I'd realized why the other children I knew had more endurance than I did, the sheer…ability I could display always made me smile.

"Well done. Now, I know Hyuuga-san is covering your chakra control exercises, but I'd like a demonstration of what you've been working on so far," Ebisu-sensei said, and I nodded. I reached into the hip pouch I'd taken to carrying around with me and pulled out a thin leaf. Carefully, using my chakra, I managed to get it to levitate off my palm. Ebisu-sensei nodded his approval, before carefully taking the leaf and sticking it to the tip of my nose, where I immediately switched some chakra to get it to stick.

"Sensei, do you think I'll be able to start working with my chakra weights soon?" I asked him, my eyes going sort of cross-eyed as I looked at the leaf, and he looked me over appraisingly for a moment. He smiled.

"I'll speak with Hyuuga-san, since she is a trained iryou-nin, but I don't imagine you'll be able to start with them before you begin at the Academy, at minimum. They're liable to stunt your growth if you start using them too early," He replied, and I nodded. Ah well, no big loss. I had plenty of other things to work on in the mean time.

* * *

In May, I learned I was going to be a big sister. Shock overtook me for a moment, before my mind suddenly sped up and further plots began to form. So, I hadn't irreparably screwed up the timeline after the Uchiha Incident. I hadn't been sure, had decided to press on with forming plans and plots and pursuing my goals as if the timeline was still ticking along as usual, but this was slight confirmation. I was planning on being far more careful, but there were still too many things I had to do and people I wanted to protect to back down now. ' _I swear, Izumi, I'll make sure things go well from now on._ '

Two months later Chizuru Hyuuga was born, and Neji became utterly insufferable. Not in the 'Oh, fate is the only determinant in life' way, but in the 'My baby sister is perfection and none of you shall touch her' sort of way. I kind of understood why, because he'd been protective of Hinata for a while now, but this was ten times worse. Shino and I had tried to talk to him about it, but he refused to acknowledge that he was going a bit overboard with his 'protective older brother' thing. I'd thought about asking Itachi to talk to him, but had decided against it. When it came to protective older brothers, Itachi still definitely won the award.

More time passed, with our expanded group seeing each other at least once a week, and I noticed how well the adults around us still got along. Like I'd thought before, it seemed as if they'd been friends long before this and were now starting to find their rhythm again. It was nice to see, and it provided further evidence that my changes might end up being beneficial overall. Of course, if Hiashi and Fugaku would ever stop posturing, things would definitely go a lot better.

At the end of December, on the 30th to be exact, Sarutobi Konohamaru was born. Weighing 3.62 kg and measuring 50 cm in length, he was absolutely perfect. Once they let me into the hospital room I immediately ran over to Mama's bed, where she was cradling the precious bundle and cooing at him. He was crying loudly, seeming bothered by everything at the moment, and I pulled myself up onto the bed to get a look at him. Daddy was standing on the other side, having his hand healed by an iryou-nin, and smiling down at all three of us. Asuma followed in along behind me, having elected to babysit me outside rather than get anywhere near the delivery room.

My baby brother had a little tuft of black hair on his head, his eyes were screwed shut from the wailing, and his face was all red and wrinkly. I'd never seen anything more precious in my life. Grinning hugely as I stared down at him, I couldn't help but be excited. I'd been an older sister before…things, but my brother and I hadn't always gotten along all that well. This time, I was determined to get things right, in more than just my relationship with Konohamaru. ' _If I have anything to say about it, little brother, you're going to grow up in a better world than you would have. I'm not going to let one negative consequence stop me from changing things. That's a promise._ '

* * *

A/N (continued): Welp, hello again!

As I mentioned in the beginning author's note, I'm going to be busy next week, so expect an early update. However, it will be sort of a bridge between this chapter and the next, as there will be something of a time skip leading to Chapter 5. The bridge is a change in perspective, where we'll be following Ichigo for a day. I hope you're all excited to read it, because it was pretty fun for me to write.

Now, I'm off to my own weekly Thursday ritual, to watch some nerdy ass voice actors play Dungeons and Dragons. I hope you guys all have a great day! :)


	6. Intermission: Point of View

A/N: So, I would like to start by apologizing for the lack of updates. School and my nonexistent immune system hit me really hard, two weeks in a row, so I have basically just been recovering the past while. HOWEVER, to apologize for the lack of updates, I'm doing a double update today! That means two chapters of the fic for you guys to enjoy! And it looks like I should be fine to upload this week, so fingers crossed, you guys will technically be getting a triple update this week!

Alright, so, I hope you all enjoy this chapter and the next, and have fun reading! If you like it, definitely leave a comment or review and let me know how I'm doing. Constructive criticism is wonderful and always welcome, but just letting me know if you think I'm doing something well helps too!

Again, Naruto doesn't belong to me, but to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

Intermission: Point of View

"The horizon of many people is a circle with zero radius which they call their point of view."-Albert Einstein

* * *

 **Ichigo**

"You want to WHAT?!"

"Recruit Uchiha Itachi into ANBU, sir." ' _Oh, great, so I did hear him right_.'

"You know, hearing you say it a second time doesn't make me feel any better," ANBU General Macaque groaned, cradling his masked face in his hands. When Minato had convinced him to take this position all those years ago, before his death, Macaque hadn't been expecting to deal with quite as much idiocy as he had. Ocelot had been right. As always. He loved her, but damn, why did she always have to be right?

"Sir? I'm afraid I do not understand your distress," Gecko said, and Macaque lifted his head from his hands to give his (formerly) favourite tracking captain a second look. ' _Nope, that's still him. Same stupid green stripes, like the day I painted his mask for him_.' Macaque let out a despairing sigh, and slumped forward over his desk. Leopard, his second in command, snickered quietly from her position by the door, where she was leaning against the wall and looking like she ruled the world.

"Oh, don't be such a drama queen. It's not like Gecko's idea is the worst one we've heard come out of his mouth. You remember that time he suggested we switch out those chakra explosives for C4, so we'd 'leave less of a trace behind'?" She made air quotes, and Gecko turned to her, his posture affronted. Macaque cut them off with a wave of his hand before they could really get started, and they both turned to face him again.

"First, Leopard, stop calling me that. We talked about this," Macaque started, and Leopard just shrugged in response, not that he'd been expecting differently from her. "Second, Gecko, explain to me exactly why we should recruit the **10-year-old** **Uchiha heir** into ANBU."

"He's a prodigy, sir. The boy has shown tremendous talent in anything he's ever attempted, and while he hasn't managed to beat the Hatake's record for promotions, I believe he may actually be good enough for at least Tokubetsu Jounin level. We could use someone like him. Ten or not, and heir or not, sir." No hesitation from Gecko, not that he'd been expecting any from the man either. He'd mentored him, Macaque knew exactly what he was like.

"Prodigy or not, the boy is a child. Do we truly think he could handle the mental and emotional rigors necessary to enter into ANBU?" Macaque asked. He didn't think so, not after having met the boy. He could be cold and unfeeling yes, like the best of the Hyuuga, but he couldn't hide his obviously squishy insides. Despite the best training from his clan, the boy was far too…yielding and soft to ever really make it as a shinobi. He'd be saddened the day the boy came home too shattered to put back together again. Yumeko's little friend, Sasuke, would be heartbroken.

"Our desensitization programs have really started to come along since Hyena took over," Leopard pointed out, always ready to play Devil's advocate. It was the main reason he kept her around, to be honest. They'd never really gotten along during training, or whenever they'd been assigned to the same squad, but he liked having someone around to question him when necessary. He didn't want power to go to his head, ever. He wouldn't turn into a Shimura Danzou.

"And the Uchiha boy already has his Sharingan, so it isn't as if he has not already experienced negativity and loss before. ANBU might be good for him. It has worked well for others before," Gecko said. Macaque felt an eyebrow go up at that, not that the other two could see. Was he talking about…

"Do you mean Hound?" Macaque asked, his tone purposefully even, and Gecko nodded, his body language immediately shifting to the ANBU equivalent of 'joyful that someone has caught onto my train of thought'.

"Yes, I do, sir. Hound has shown himself to be a remarkable ANBU agent, and his records speak for themselves. No others among our current members hold mission records as successful as his, except for perhaps our few elite veterans. Since he became a captain, losses across the board have fallen drastically, and the other agents whisper that his missions are blessed with luck." Yet, on the few occasions where Hound did bring home another dead ally, another piece of him seemed to slip away. Minato would have despaired at seeing what had become of his former student, and Kushina would have beaten Macaque into a pulp for letting it get this bad. He was just glad Ocelot hadn't been around to HQ lately, or she'd have had some words for him too.

It wasn't as if he didn't care for the Hatake, because he did! It was just that ANBU Hound didn't want or need anyone looking over his shoulder, and made it a point of taking long missions just to spite Macaque whenever he came looking for Hound for a chat. He'd tried to suggest, multiple times, that Hound should maybe take a little break outside of ANBU, but that had never gone over well. He'd also considered, more than once, sicking Ocelot on him, but he knew that was just cruel. Kakashi, whether as himself or Hound, avoided her like the plague for a reason.

"Gecko, I want you out of my office and in for a psych eval at the nearest opportunity. With one of our cleared Yamanka therapists, NOT with Hyena," Macaque said, standing from his desk and carefully shuffling his papers into some semblance of order. Gecko and Hyena had trained together under him, and he knew what sort of plans they could concoct when left to their own devices. It was becoming increasingly clear to him that both had spent just a little bit too much time as ANBU, and not as their shinobi selves. A break for both was in order.

"Ah…sir, might I ask why?" Gecko asked, hesitating. ' _Well, that's a good sign. At least he can still question me. I haven't totally lost the kid_.'

"How many years have you been agent Gecko now?" Macaque asked.

"Twelve now, sir! I've been working as a captain for five! I haven't had leave from ANBU since…since…the Kyuubi attack, sir." Gecko went quiet at that, and Leopard padded forward to rest a comforting hand on the man's shoulder.

"Go to your bunk, grab your civvies, and go get some dinner with your mother. She'll be glad to see you," Leopard ordered, her tone soothing, and Gecko nodded before turning and scampering out of Macaque's office, shutting the door behind him.

"Remember how we discussed instituting mandatory, yearly leave?" Macaque asked, letting out a tired sigh and reaching up to remove his mask. He let Ichigo slip back to the fore, as Leopard turned to activate his office's privacy seals before doing the same, removing her mask and pulling back her hood to reveal Yamanaka Fumiko.

"I do," She said. "I also remember supporting the plan, but then nothing ever coming of it because of a certain Elder's…conflicting interests." Her blue eyes, the same shade as her daughter's, were gleaming in irritation, and he felt the same. Elder Shimura's continued stranglehold over the dealings of the darker side of Konoha made things difficult for both of them. They could only go to the Sandaime and go over Shimura's head so many times before the old, conniving bastard retaliated.

Ichigo had never imagined Macaque would be spending so much of his time as ANBU's General competing against the interests of a retiree almost twice his age, but it didn't mean it wasn't happening. Regardless of what else he thought of him, Shimura Danzou was an intelligent man, and had spent far longer in the shadows than Macaque had. He knew them far better, but they'd also consumed him in a way that Ichigo was somewhat protected from. It was Macaque who was more immersed in the darkness than Ichigo, and as long as his compartmentalization worked, it would stay that way.

Compartmentalizing was a common coping tactic among the ANBU forces, one which had been drilled into them almost from the beginning. If you could dissociate from the actions of your ANBU self, it would make moving around as your shinobi self easier. Or, so the psychologists said. Hyena had his own ideas on the matter, and while Ichigo couldn't say that either Hyena or the trained Yamanakas were more correct than the other, either way his agents managed.

He knew that the way ANBU agents dealt with the reality of their work wasn't the healthiest coping mechanism, but it had worked for so long he didn't want to go and try to change it. If shoving all of your guilt and regrets at another personality worked, then so be it. The psyche was Hyena's purview, not Macaque's, and if he wanted to work on ways to better the agents around him, all the more power to him. Anyway, there was a reason why Leopard was the one who dealt with Hyena the most, since she understood his psychobabble a thousand times better than Macaque or Ichigo could ever hope to.

"After this, I think it's past time we resurrected those plans. We just need to figure out a way to either obscure the truth of the leave, or hide the plans before they're too far along for Shimura to interfere," Ichigo said, and Fumiko frowned at him.

"I can get Rabbit, Swan and Frog to send out the ROOT plants in their divisions on missions for the next while, surrounded by agents we trust. There are a couple of missions my people say that Shimura has expressed more interest in than usual, so we could send the ROOT agents along on those and observe the results," She said, reaching up to run a hand through her closely cropped honey blonde hair as she thought. "It would make it seem like we were making a push to determine his outside interests, rather than making plans behind his back."

"Has subterfuge and diversion at such a small scale ever worked on him before?" Ichigo asked, ruefully, and Fumiko smiled sharply at him.

"It's small scale now, but give me some time, and I'm sure I can make it as convoluted as needed to keep the old bastard at bay. You just work on getting these new regulations in place, and leave the hard work to me." Ichigo pouted at her at that, and she snickered. She always got to do the fun stuff now, while he was left behind a desk with all his paperwork. Fumiko reached up and slipped her mask in place, becoming Leopard again, before she bowed and turned to leave his office. She deactivated the privacy seals on her way out, and left the door open as she made her way back into HQ proper. Ichigo slipped his mask back on as well, and turned to his desk with a grumble.

' _I'd rather go and talk to Father about this Itachi business._ ' Macaque thought, frowning at the piles and piles of paperwork on his desk. ' _It would be a good way to bring up my plans for Yumeko…and maybe I can do something about Kakashi while I'm at it._ ' A course of action that allowed for avoidance of paperwork in place, Macaque turned and made his way into HQ proper. He shut the door behind him and activated his security seals, not bothering to lock the door. Any halfway decent agent could just pick the lock, but they'd get fried if the security seals didn't recognize them.

If there was one thing he missed about Minato and Kushina above all others, it was their fuuinjutsu expertise. They'd been masters of the art, and while Jiraiya was one as well, he was always off working on his own things. Even though ANBU and the regular shinobi Intelligence Division had their own small subdivisions dedicated to fuuinjutsu, there were no masters among them. Anything that got sent to those groups usually disappeared for weeks or months on end, and the chances of them actively creating seals in the village were almost nonexistent. They could do the simple things, like storage and explosive seals, but that work was usually dealt with by the unlucky interns in the Intelligence Division.

As Macaque walked through the hallways of HQ, passing several of his agents who saluted or bowed before moving on, he thought. Partially about his plans for Yumeko, but mostly about his failings. Sarutobi Ichigo and General Macaque both had a lot to answer for, to a lot of people, but he couldn't help but dwell on a couple of people in particular. Minato. Kushina. Madoka. Kakashi. Fugaku and Mikoto. Especially, above all the others, Naruto.

There was a memory that he'd turned over and over again in his head, in regards to that little boy, and he wondered, as he had when it happened, what he could have done so things would have gone differently?

* * *

It had been shortly after the Kyuubi attack, and even though he was still General at the time, he'd given one of his other agents some time to rest and taken up Hokage Guard duty. While ANBU had specific squads on Hokage guard duty, supplementing the smaller ranks of the Hokage Guard Platoon, most of those squads had taken casualties while they'd been guarding Minato that fateful night. Honestly, most of ANBU had been running on a skeleton crew right after the Kyuubi attack, which was why Macaque currently found himself hiding behind seals in the Hokage's office, watching a particularly uncomfortable conversation.

The Sandaime and Jiraiya were arranged on one side of the office, behind the Hokage's desk, while Fugaku and Mikoto stood on the other side of it. Both groups were stubbornly staring back at the other, or in the case of Mikoto, glaring.

"What in the world is that supposed to mean?" She snapped, her usually carefully reigned in temper obviously having risen to the surface. She could play the docile, elegant wife of a noble clan head when she wanted, but Macaque and Ichigo had both been well aware of much of an act that was. There was a reason she, Kushina and Madoka had all gotten along so well as kids.

"Exactly what it sounds like, Uchiha-san," The Sandaime replied, his tone cool as he'd watched the pair in front of him. He'd had his arms folded in front of him on the desk and was leaning forward, leading to shadows being cast over his face from the brim of his hat. The tension in the air was high, helped along by the slight levels of killing intent he was leaking, but Mikoto would not be intimidated.

"Don't you 'Uchiha-san' me, Sandaime-sama," She snapped, and Macaque watched Fugaku twitch. Whether it was in despair for his wife's continued sass, or pride for the same thing, Macaque wasn't sure. They'd grown up together, yes, but Fugaku had always been difficult to read. "Naruto-chan is my godson, and I want to know why you're refusing to allow me to take him home. Your nonsense about 'keeping him protected' wouldn't even be necessary if you hadn't gone and told the entire village he was the Jinchuuriki!"

"It was a necessary move," The Sandaime replied, and Jiraiya grimaced slightly behind his back. Yeah, Ichigo hadn't liked that decision either. Madoka had nearly thrown a fit when she'd found out the Sandaime's plans, and it was only because they'd been in public at the time that she'd not actually attempted to strangle the old Hokage. She and Hiruzen had had a chat afterwards, but she'd purposefully avoided the Hokage's office since then. Ichigo had to admit that he didn't like the idea of Naruto growing up alone any more than she did, but he was ANBU General Macaque and a Jounin besides, so he was bound to listen to the orders of his Hokage.

"As 'necessary' as hiding who his parents are?" Mikoto hissed, her ire increasing. "You were willing to out him as Jinchuuriki but hide the information that would mitigate the backlash? And, so help me, if you start in with your 'his father had enemies' nonsense, you will not like my reaction."

"Are you threatening me, Uchiha-san?" The Sandaime asked, his tone dangerous, and Mikoto matched his glare. ' _That woman has a spine of steel,_ ' Ichigo thought, fondly. Fugaku cleared his throat at that moment, and all eyes switched to looking at him.

"Regardless of my wife's other concerns," Fugaku began, placing a gentle hand on Mikoto's shoulder, who frowned at him slightly but stopped glaring at the Sandaime. "She was appointed the boy's Godmother, and has a legal right to take him in."

"And Jiraiya is Naruto's Godfather," The Sandaime replied. "He has agreed with me to place the boy under protective care in one of the orphanages, for several reasons which I do not need to share with you two. However, there are concerns that were brought up in regards to placing the boy with any of the clans, especially the noble ones, and I found them valid enough to address with this compromise. Rather than placing him with a family, where we cannot guarantee his upbringing, we'll be placing him where he can be closely monitored by the village."

"Might I ask what those concerns were?" Fugaku asked, his lips having drawn into a thin line at the mention of a problem with placing Naruto in a ninja clan. Macaque imagined that clan politics would probably have been a major factor in that, and since Naruto was known as the Jinchuuriki now, wherever he might have gone could have caused problems for relations among the clans. At least, Macaque hoped politics were the main reason. The thought that it might be linked to some of the unsettling rumours that had begun lately, in regards to the Uchiha clan and the attack, didn't bear thinking about. He'd not had much luck in investigating the source, not with his greatly decreased forces, and he worried that by the time ANBU discovered the culprit, the damage would be too great to reverse.

"Mostly to do with the influence any of those clans might have on his loyalty to the village," The Hokage replied, and if Macaque hadn't known him better, he wouldn't have noticed how the old man seemed slightly evasive in his response. There was more he was hiding, Macaque was certain.

"So, we're just going to ignore any rights I have as Godmother?" Mikoto snapped, interjecting before Fugaku could say anything, and his thinned lips deepened into a frown. Jiraiya and the Sandaime exchanged looks, and Macaque got a sinking feeling in his gut. The Sandaime was glaring at Jiraiya now, who was shooting him a significant look, and the Hokage finally let out a sigh and reached up to rub at his temples.

"Alright, tell them," He said, and Jiraiya nodded. Mikoto straightened, looking between the two, and Fugaku's face went carefully blank.

"Honestly, there's another reason," Jiraiya said, speaking up for the first time since the tense conversation had began. "You two have probably been hearing the rumours about your clan, right?" Macaque tensed up at the same time as Fugaku, and Mikoto's face immediately shifted into irritation.

"We have, but Hokage-sama, I had assumed that after our discussion on the matter, you'd know that they're completely false," Fugaku replied, and the Hokage nodded in response.

"I know it, and so does Jiraiya and everyone in the Uchiha clan. Most of the clan heads are also aware of the matter, but I'm afraid that frightened people will use whatever information they have to find someone to blame for a tragedy," The Sandaime said, sadly.

"You're withholding Naruto from us because you're worried about what the rumours might do, for both our reputations and his?" Mikoto asked, her tone frustrated.

"Yes, but there are still other reasons. I'm sorry, Mikoto-san, but there isn't a better way right now," Hiruzen said, having finally emerged from behind the mask of the Sandaime, and sounding every bit his age. "I want Naruto to grow up loved, with people around to raise him and give him a good life, but with every other factor in this situation, I can't."

"Just one last question, Sandaime-sama," Fugaku said, cutting off Mikoto before she could speak. This time, they were the ones who exchanged significant looks, and finally Mikoto looked away and at the floor. "Does a certain Elder have anything to do with this mess?"

"We think so," Jiraiya said, and the Sandaime let out a sigh and pulled out his pipe. He'd kept it hidden for most of the conversation, but now it seemed to have gotten to him enough that he required the solace of his tobacco.

"This conversation is not to leave this room. You will not tell anyone of what transpired here, nor the reasons behind why the boy will be placed in an orphanage," He said, putting his pipe to his lips and turning his chair to look out the windows, a clear dismissal.

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Fugaku and Mikoto said, before turning and leaving the office. Jiraiya waited for the privacy seals to flare back up before turning to look down at the Hokage.

"I still don't like this, but if you think it'll protect Naruto, I'm going to go along with it. Remember, though, that he's outwitted you before, and he might again." The Hokage let out a sigh, and when he slumped in his chair, it was Hiruzen who responded to his old student.

"I know, Jiraiya-kun. I know."

* * *

All things considered, there hadn't been much of anything Macaque or Ichigo could have done back then. He'd tried to make sure that Naruto was guarded by ANBU sympathetic to him after that, but Macaque had been busy with a lot of other things, so he didn't know if things had always worked out. Besides, ANBU couldn't be watching him constantly, or that closely, without raising the suspicions of certain interested parties. Honestly, the first chance Macaque got to eliminate that old bastard, he'd take it. He'd gone unchecked for far too long.

' _Speaking of conniving old men..._ ' Macaque had reached the end of the secret tunnels that connected ANBU HQ to the Hokage's office, and from his position hidden behind some of the illusory seals, he could see that the Sandaime already had a visitor. Specifically, Elder Shimura. It looked like Macaque had managed to come across a conversation between the two, which was odd. Not much had been seen of Elder Shimura, at least not in the village's public life. The old bastard had claimed ailing health as his reason for remaining hidden in that palatial manor of his, and Macaque couldn't say he wasn't being convincing about it. The old man's left arm and chest were bandaged up, a new addition to the bandages that normally surrounded the left side of his head, and he was carrying a wooden cane.

"I am certain that the matter will settle itself," The Sandaime was saying, an easy and utterly fake smile on his face. The Elder's face was a mask without emotions, like usual.

"That remains to be seen," Shimura replied, shifting slightly and leaning further forward on his cane, like standing was beginning to become too painful. "If that will be all, Sandaime-sama, I would like to return to my house."

"Ah, I apologize. It has just been so long, old friend, I forgot myself," The Hokage replied, his smile shifting slightly to seem more genuine. "You have been busy, though."

"Busy being ill, you mean," Shimura said, and if Macaque didn't know better, he'd swear the man was making a joke. "And watching over my grandchildren, as I mentioned. Perhaps we should schedule a meeting between mine and yours?"

"Perhaps," The Sandaime replied, chuckling quietly. The mood, while tense before, suddenly ratcheted up a notch, and Macaque felt himself growing tense with it. "Although I must warn you, you might not get them back after. Yume-chan is rather fond of accumulating friends."

"I'll keep that in mind," Shimura replied, and with that turned and left the office. Macaque clenched his fists and glared at his retreating back. He was aware of the old bastard's interest in any prodigies in the village, but he'd assumed that Yumeko was safe, being so publicly visible as a member of the Hokage's family. It might be best if he increased security around her, at least until he managed to find a more permanent solution to the elder's seeming interest in his daughter.

The Sandaime sighed, and turned to look over at the spot where Macaque was hiding. He smirked, and waved Macaque over. He frowned beneath his mask, surprised that the Hokage had detected his presence behind the security seals, but moved into the office anyway.

"Yes, General Macaque, what is it?" The Sandaime asked, as Macaque moved to kneel in front of his desk.

"I'd like to request a private chat, Sandaime-sama," The Sandaime stilled at that, looking him over with a raised eyebrow. There was a long pause, but finally the Sandaime tapped the center of the seal matrix on his desk, and the privacy seals activated.

"What about, Macaque?" He asked, and Macaque, against regulations, moved a hand up and took off his mask, Ichigo's eyes meeting the Sandaime's.

"A private chat with my Father, Sandaime-sama," Ichigo insisted, and the Sandaime's eyes shuttered, a frown crossing his face. There was another beat of silence, and then the man's shoulders slumped tiredly. When he met Ichigo's eyes again, his father was staring back at him, looking exhausted and frail. The old man had been relying on the Sandaime for too long now, it seemed, and it looked like it was getting harder and harder to switch back to himself. Ichigo had seen the same thing in a lot of his agents, and it hurt to see his father reduced to the same thing. The Sandaime may have been a coping mechanism, once, but it was looking more and more like it would become the dominant personality at this rate.

"Yes, Ichigo-chan, is there something I can help you with?" Hiruzen asked, and Ichigo moved from his kneeling position to step around the desk, and tug his father into a hug. The old man grumbled about it for a moment, but hugged him back anyway.

"I wanted to talk to you about prodigies, actually," Ichigo said, letting go and stepping back, and the old man smiled slightly.

"Figured I'd be hearing about this from you earlier, actually. There are plans in place to protect Yume-chan, not to worry," Hiruzen said, and Ichigo shook his head.

"I didn't mean just Yume, actually," Ichigo began, and his father raised an eyebrow in response. ' _That can wait till later, once I've gathered more information._ ' "You know the Uchiha heir, Itachi-kun?"

"We've met, yes. Your daughter tends to collect clan heirs," Hiruzen replied, sounding amused. Ichigo felt his lips twitch up in response. It was true, though. Yume-chan, for whatever reason, had managed to attach herself to not only the rest of the clan heirs around her age, but their siblings as well. It was reminiscent of Minato, from when they'd been young, and he felt another pang of guilt at the thought of his old friend. He'd been failing him with Kakashi, his last remaining student, so how would Minato have reacted if he found out Ichigo had failed to protect his son as well?

"She does, but that's not why I brought him up. Gecko had an interesting proposal for me today. He suggested we recruit Uchiha Itachi into ANBU," Ichigo said, and watched his father make a very complicated face. It took a moment, but it was still his father looking back at him when Hiruzen spoke.

"Ah. I see." That was all Ichigo got before the old man pulled out his pipe and carefully lit it before taking a big inhale of whatever he was smoking today. Ichigo waited, knowing his father needed to think, and speaking wouldn't help right now. "I am assuming, based on the fact you're not currently back in your headquarters and overseeing the logistics of this matter, that you said no?"

"I did. Uchiha, on top of being the heir to his clan, is only ten. There is no way we could get that past Mikoto without someone ending up castrated," Ichigo replied, wincing at the idea of what his wife would do to him on top of that. "Besides, being a prodigy is not enough of a qualification to join ANBU. We normally take the less flashy people on purpose."

"I understand your hesitation, but do not understand why you brought a closed matter to me?" Hiruzen said, his tone even as he spoke around the pipe still in his mouth.

"It's because the talk of prodigies got me thinking. Father, you'd agree that our track record when it comes to ninja prodigies isn't exactly great, right?" Ichigo said, and Hiruzen paused a moment to think.

"Care to explain?" The old man asked, a curious twinkle in his eyes, and Ichigo smoothed out his features. ' _Ah, so I'm talking to both now, huh_?'

"Orochimaru speaks for himself, but if we look at the two latest generational prodigies, they're not exactly the epitome of anything. Sure, they're both great shinobi, from what we've seen, but Uchiha Itachi is too soft to make it among the darkest parts of our profession. Don't even get me started on the Hatake. I don't think there's much of Kakashi left anymore, just Captain Hound. They may be effective, but how long before they come back too broken for us to use anymore?

"Minato was effective as a prodigy because he wasn't only book smart, but people smart. We've seen what happens with our three examples of prodigies who rely solely on logic and intelligence, and forego connections to others around them. All the same, he died. He gave his life for the village, which was his prerogative as Hokage, and I will not say that what he did was not great and brave and all the other things people call it. All the same, Sandaime-sama, **I do not want that for my daughter**.

"If the only options for her are becoming an emotionless, soulless robot or blazing like a star and going out too quickly, then I don't want her to be a prodigy. I want her to be a child, I want her to grow up loved and safe, and I will not accept that there is no third path for her. Please, Sandaime-sama, Father, help me. Help me give her time so we can find her that other option. Together." Ichigo watched his father, the Hokage, process that for a long while. He held still, not daring to move, as the Sandaime leaned back in his chair and removed the pipe from his mouth.

"Ah, nepotism. How wonderful, to worry so over your family, over the concerns of the village," The Sandaime eventually said, chuckling quietly to himself. "Very well, boy, I will work on it. Was there something else you wanted, or may I go back to work?" Ichigo very carefully did not let his relief shine through, instead smiling slightly back at the Sandaime.

"Yes. Remember that Yumeko is making dinner with her mother today, and you promised you'd be by to try it," He said, and carefully settled his mask back in place. The chuckle this time was warmer, and it was Hiruzen, his father, who smiled back before the Sandaime slid back into place and he went back to work.

Macaque turned and left the way he'd came, through the secret tunnels leading back to ANBU HQ. As he did, he resolved, as Ichigo, to talk to Madoka about what he'd seen today. There had to be something he could do to keep his old man around and in control for a bit longer. He worried what would happen once there was no longer a Hiruzen to balance the Sandaime. What would it mean not only for the village, but for his family? There had to be a way to fix this, and Macaque and Ichigo would die before they gave up trying to find it.

Ah, and he'd need to track down Hound for another chat. He wouldn't be stood up by that uppity brat this time, no sir. Macaque would not be foiled by a boy 10 years his junior, not again.

* * *

A/N (continued): I've been excited to release this chapter for a while, so I hope you guys liked the perspective change!

This chapter also made me remember how much I hate finding quotes for the chapter titles. So much effort. Too much.

And now, on to the next chapter! There's someone special introduced in that one, so I hope you guys enjoy! :)


	7. Academy Arc: Not a Word Yet

A/N: Again, remember to leave a review if you guys enjoyed the chapter! Or if you didn't like the chapter, so I know what to improve on moving forward.

Anyways, have fun, and enjoy reading!

Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

* * *

Chapter 5-Academy Arc: Not a Word Yet

"There's not a word yet, for old friends who've just met."- Jim Henson

* * *

2 years later

"No, Chizuru is cuter!"

"Look, Neji-kun, just because she's still a toddler doesn't make her any cuter than Sasuke."

"How does that argument make any sense? Babies are obviously cuter than a 6-year-old!"

"Toddler, Neji-kun. And Chizuru-chan may be young and cute, but Itachi's little brother hero worships him. That puts him on an entirely different level of adorable."

"Shisui, enough," Itachi cut in, looking faintly irritated at the bickering pair. Shisui had probably been on his patrol route when he happened upon Neji and they began arguing. He was in his standard Konoha Military Police uniform, so I was pretty sure I was right. Sasuke was standing behind his brother and groaning, his face in his hands, and Hinata looked absolutely done with her cousin. Considering Neji and Shisui had been arguing about the cuteness of their respective relatives since Shino and I had joined the group, she had enough reason to be. We were on our way to the Academy, all of us and our respective parents, so coming across Shisui had been a bit of a surprise.

"Troublesome. Thanks for stopping them, Itachi-san," Shikamaru said, looking tired and slouching in place. Shisui chuckled, saluted Fugaku briefly, and continued on his way, graceful in his defeat, as his patrol partner stared at us until they turned the corner. The Ino-Shika-Cho trio had joined us a few minutes ago, their parents lagging along behind them. Ino mostly looked amused, and Chouji was just as out of it as Shikamaru, already munching away on a bag of pretzels. They must have been tired, poor things. Not that I could blame them. I'd had trouble sleeping the night before as well, though definitely not for the same reasons as most of my friends.

Today, we were starting at the Konohagakure Ninja Academy. Today would determine the rest of my life, because if I didn't end up in the same class as everyone else, if I wasn't with Naruto, I wasn't sure what I would do. ' _It might be worse if I am with them though. What am I going to do about Sakura?_ ' That worry had plagued me most of the night. Did she deserve to lose her place in Team 7 just because I was around? I wasn't trying to be full of myself, but I was an adult in a child's body. I had already learned basically everything that would be taught in the Academy, both in my previous life and in this current one, under the tutelage of Ebisu-sensei and Nanami-sensei.

Plus, I was now officially the Sarutobi clan heiress. Grandpa had stepped down a year ago in favour of Dad, claiming that he needed to focus more on his duties as Hokage. I was sure he'd done it because he felt guilty over Asuma leaving. They'd had some big fight a couple of months before that, and Asuma had left in the middle of the night without a word. We'd gotten word from him a week later, saying that he'd gotten an offer to join the 12 Guardian Ninjas and decided to take it. Thus, I wasn't going to be seeing him for at least five more years, because that was the amount of time one signed up to be a Guardian before they let you either leave or rotate out with someone else who had been in the group.

I sort of had a lot going for me, more than Sakura did as a civilian. It left me feeling guilty whenever I thought about what might happen to her, now that I might take her place. There had to be something I could do to help her. ' _I won't let her go out like you, Izumi._ '

"We need to keep moving or we'll be late. We don't want to miss the Sandaime's opening speech," Mikoto said firmly, and we all turned to look at her. Her usual mask of sheer calm and elegance looked to be fraying slightly at the edges, and the way Fugaku had carefully inched away spoke volumes. Only one thing intimidated that man, and it was his wife.

"I second that, Miko-chan," Tsume said, grinning. A couple of the children seemed startled at her sudden appearance, but I'd sensed her, Hana, Kiba and the ninken arriving. Mikoto looked resigned to the nickname at this point, after almost two years of Tsume using it to annoy her.

"Dad's speech isn't that important. He uses the same one every year," Dad piped up, resting a hand on top of my head to lean on me as he did so. I struggled to break free, because he'd started doing this a lot lately and it annoyed me.

"Ichigo, hush. Respect the institution of the thing," Mama responded, balancing a napping Konohamaru in one arm as she lightly smacked Dad on the shoulder. He grumbled, rubbing the spot, but not saying anything else.

"Can we just go, please?" Sasuke said, having finally removed his face from his hands. He still looked embarrassed, and his cheeks were flushed. The adults began moving us along after that, and I moved to link one arm with Neji and pull him ahead with me and Shino, shooting him a dangerous look when he opened his mouth to protest. He shut it with a click and an apologetic smile, and I rolled my eyes. Shino chuckled quietly on my other side, and the two boys began a silent argument over my head as I let out an exasperated sigh.

"Boys," Ino said, echoing my thoughts and shooting me a sympathetic smile, and I nodded.

"Yours look dead to the world," I replied, and she nodded in response.

"Shikamaru-kun just doesn't like waking up this early, but Chouji-kun was up late worrying," She said. "We're all definitely going to be in the same class though. Sandaime-sama knows how well we all get along, and he's in charge of the class lists," She continued, flipping her ponytail back over her shoulder, and I frowned a little. I wasn't so sure about that. I knew he had some control over the Academy, but I wasn't sure he personally sorted the class lists. That didn't seem like something a Hokage would be dealing with, not when there were thousands of more important things to be doing.

"You'll see," Came Dad's voice, sounding ominous, and I could feel the atmosphere around me begin to fill with dread. I shuddered, immediately trying to block it out, and shot him a glare over my shoulder.

"Stop scaring them, Dad. It'll all be fine," I said, trying to sound reassuring, though his words had caused the uncertainty to rear in my own gut as well. He grinned at me unapologetically, and I heard collective sighs from some of the other adults in the group.

By that time, we'd finally managed to reach the Administrative Center, the Academy on its left and tucked away behind the main building. I hurried forward, dragging Neji and Shino with me to get away from the circus that was the Clan Heads of Konoha, as some of the other adults (i.e. Fugaku and Hiashi) had started in with their own argument. Hinata followed behind us, giggling at my behaviour. She seemed to find it amusing, but after three years of this I was starting to get sick of their need to constantly one up each other.

"I'll stay for the speech, but after that I must meet with my own class," Neji said apologetically, and I released his arm immediately. He was a year older than us, right. I still managed to forget sometimes, and he seemed to be able to tell what I was thinking because he reached out and patted my head. I frowned at him, because he knew I hated that. I'd developed a thing against people touching my head a while back now, mostly because they did it to emphasize how short I currently was. It wasn't my fault I hadn't had a growth spurt yet, damn it!

"I'll see you both at break, I promise. We can all play ninja!" He said, and Kiba and Sasuke immediately brightened up at the mention of our group's favourite game. Then, there was the sound of a bell tolling, and we all turned to face the stage that had been erected in the center of the front grounds. Grandpa was standing there flanked by several chuunin, their uniforms immaculate and their flak jackets in place, one of whom was Iruka. He looked nervous and kept rubbing at the scar across his nose. Our parents all hurried us forward, their arguments momentarily forgotten, and we stood as a group at the back of a larger crowd of children and adults.

Grandpa began his speech, and I drifted off almost immediately. It was the same speech as last year, when I'd attended Neji's first day of school. There was, as per his usual speeches, a lot of 'Will of Fire' stuff, and an emphasis on teamwork and loyalty and so on. Don't get me wrong, this stuff was important to Konoha and I'd started to accept some of the propaganda after the Uchiha Incident, but still. I continued to dislike the entire concept of training children to be killers. At least I'd made the choice for myself, but most of these other kids had absolutely no idea what they would be getting into in the years to come.

All the same, I was beginning to understand that my continued bias towards the entire institution was coming from my old world. Eventually, I would need to accept that this world had grown differently than my old one, and just because things might have been considered horrible and inexcusable back before, didn't mean the same things applied here. Shinobi were dedicated to their village above anything else, and there was nothing wrong with that kind of loyalty in this world.

When I tuned back in, one of the Chuunin had stepped forward and begun calling out names from a scroll he'd unfurled. I waited patiently, my gut still filled with worry, but none of my group was called in. Finished with his class, the chuunin moved to meet the twenty or so children near the doors, and led them inside. There were two more classes after that before Iruka stepped forward, and I crossed my arms. The moment of truth.

He began with Shino's name, and he moved away from us to go stand by the door. Chouji joined him not long after, and soon enough I heard, "Haruno, Sakura." My gut sank a little as Hinata and Kiba joined the line not long after. ' _Well, now what am I going to do?_ ' Shikamaru moved to join the line as Iruka got to the N's, and I struggled not to react as he began to go further down the alphabet.

"Sarutobi, Yumeko," He eventually called, and I blinked in astonishment. Relief filled me as I practically skipped over to the line, and I could feel the amusement radiating from my group of adults as they watched me. They'd definitely known we were all going to be together, and had probably been messing with us on purpose. Sasuke moved over to join the line when his name was called, and suddenly there was a pause from Iruka.

"Uzumaki, Naruto," He called out, sounding slightly faint, and I immediately whirled in line. ' _Finally!_ ' The little blond boy was dressed in a ratty looking orange shirt and blue shorts, looking a little dirty and malnourished overall, but there was a giant smile on his face. The chakra I could feel practically radiating from him made him look as bright as the sun for a moment, and I was forced to look away. I could hear the muttering around me, the discomfort in some of the parents' chakras at the realization of who was going to be attending school with their children, but to my overwhelming relief I felt nothing of the sort from my own parents or the other adults I'd grown up with. If anything, they seemed just as relieved as I was, perhaps that they finally had an excuse to try and get to know Minato and Kushina's son through their own children.

Iruka wrapped up soon after with Ino and another two boys being added to our class, and then we were being led inside. I was too busy focusing on the blazing ball of chakra not too far along behind me in the line of children to pay attention to where we were going, so when we got to the classroom I was momentarily surprised. I felt Hinata on one side and Ino on the other, leading me up the stairs to the chairs in the back of the tiered, auditorium like classroom straight from the pages of the manga, and I started struggling.

"Wait, hold up a second," I said, and they gave me confused looks as the rest of our little group claimed the entirety of the back row. The other children, grumbling slightly but looking a little afraid of the unity our group was already displaying, moved to fill the rest of the seats. Counting, I noticed enough seats for one more person to be added to our group in the back, and turned back around to find Naruto.

He was standing by the door, looking uncertain as groups began to form without him and people took their seats, and I walked over and stood in front of him. Iruka was by the podium in the center of the front of the room, sorting through papers, but I could see the moment of alarm and hesitation when he saw me approaching Naruto. Before he could move to attempt to interfere though, I was already speaking.

"Hey, you seem nice. We have an extra seat in the back, want to join us?" I asked him, smiling brightly, and he looked surprised I'd even stopped to talk to him. From this close, I could see that his eyes were as bright blue as the sky on a sunny day, and the whiskers that decorated his cheeks looked like well-healed scars. He still had the intrinsic chubbiness of young children on his cheeks, but it wasn't as prominent as it might have been if he was better looked after.

"Yeah, Yumeko-hime is right! We need someone to fill this seat!" Kiba piped up from where he'd taken up residence by the window in the back, and Shino chimed his assent from beside him. I twitched at the nickname, but refrained from turning to glare at my friend. He'd just keep using it the more I reacted, and besides, I was more focused on Naruto right now.

"You can sit with me," Sasuke said, grinning at him from his spot in the middle of the back and waving for added emphasis, one empty seat beside him while the other was taken up by Hinata. Naruto looked overwhelmed for a moment as the Ino-Shika-Cho trio offered their own specific versions of assent, and then he grinned so brightly I almost wanted to cry. His chakra blazed so brilliantly when he was happy, like a real sun, and I never wanted to stop looking at it. It made everything around him brighter too, and for a long moment I let myself indulge in anger at the general populace of Konoha for trying to destroy this.

"Sure thing, dattebayo!" He shouted, and scrambled along past me, up the stairs. With a laugh, I followed behind him, settling in beside Shino as Naruto seated himself beside Sasuke. He was technically beside me as well, though an aisle separated us. Hinata was in a similar position with Ino, and Chouji sat in the middle of her row with Shikamaru already taking a nap in the corner.

OK, that was a good start. I surreptitiously began looking around for Sakura. Her bright pink hair stood out, even in a sea of other random colours, and I noticed she was sitting one row down, in front of Ino. She was looking a little uncertain, as the two girls she shared her bench with had already struck up a conversation and seemed to be happily chatting away. ' _Sorry, Sakura. I'll try and figure something out soon._ '

Iruka started class then, and I was soon too bored to pay any real attention. I propped my chin on my hand and pretended to focus on the board as I began quietly plotting through the problem of Sakura. Before I knew it, lunch break was being called, and we all trooped out into the Academy grounds. Neji found us before we could find him, and Sasuke immediately introduced him to his 'new best friend', Naruto. I hadn't even realized that they had hit it off so spectacularly after only a few hours, but the way they were grinning at each other and exchanging stories made it obvious.

As we all sat down to lunch, it became clear which one of our number we would have to worry most over. Naruto insisted he wasn't hungry, having not brought anything to eat, but I knew better. For a six-year-old, he was on the thin side, and shorter than all of us to boot. Even me, and I'd been the shortest for a year now!

"Oh man, I'm so full! Mama definitely packed too much," I said, pretending to groan and clutching at my stomach as I stared at my half-eaten bento. ' _Goodbye strawberries. You're going to a good cause, I swear._ '"Here, Naruto-kun, you finish it for me," I continued, and shoved my lunch box at him before he could protest. I would just beg a snack off Mama later.

"No, really, I'm OK!" He insisted, trying to give it back to me, but I scrambled out of the way and ducked behind Neji to hide.

"Nope, sorry. You touched it last, it's yours now," I said, grinning unrepentantly at him as Hinata started giggling at our antics. Determination crossed Naruto's face, and he stood as if to come after me and make sure that I took back my bento, but Shikamaru let out a sigh from where he'd been napping in the center of our circle.

"Troublesome. Just take the food. She's faster than all of us, you won't catch her," He said, cracking an eye open. Our eyes met for a moment, and a mutual understanding was achieved. We'd definitely both be watching out for Naruto after this.

"I thought you were asleep, you layabout! Eat something before we play ninja, or you'll be complaining the whole time!" Ino snapped, glaring at him, and he let out a groan but sat up.

"Here, Naruto-kun, want some of my rice balls?" Chouji asked, holding out an extra from the big box he'd brought out, and most of us went still. Chouji almost never shared his food, unless it was with Shikamaru.

"You should take it, Naruto-kun. Chouji-kun is particular about who he shares food with," Hinata insisted, voicing our collective thoughts, and the little blond ball of sunshine hesitated. After a moment, he took it reverently.

"Umm…thanks," He said, quietly, and settled back down between Shino and Sasuke and started eating. I smiled happily at him, and endeavoured to tell Mama to start packing me an extra lunch every day.

Being around Naruto was as easy as breathing. It was like he'd belonged with us from the very beginning, and I could tell that I wasn't the only one who'd noticed. Shikamaru and Neji both quietly watched him as we finished eating, seeming contemplative. Neji was probably worrying over him like a mother hen, because he was the oldest and had put himself in charge of looking out for the rest of the group. With Shikamaru, I figured he was trying to puzzle Naruto out. Besides, the boy just seemed to radiate happiness and energy, and it was infectious. We were all so hyped up to play ninja that it ending up being one of the best games we'd played to date, especially because we now had an even number between the teams.

"No, Hokage-sama, I cannot possibly!" I shouted, pretending to swoon as Shino and Kiba lay still behind me, 'dead' for the moment. Naruto cackled maniacally, backed up by Sasuke and Neji.

"But you must, for the village!" He shouted, just as loudly as me, and I couldn't hide my giggle. He was really into this.

"Not to worry Hime-chan, we'll rescue you!" Chouji cried, coming barrelling forward with Hinata at his back. Ino, near the treeline, was berating Shikamaru for letting them past him when he was supposed to be playing guard. I struggled not to twitch at the hated nickname.

"No, none of you can stop me now! I shall defeat you all! Come to me, my loyal ANBU!" Naruto cried, dashing forward with a grinning Sasuke and an entertained Neji to meet the charge. Before the two sides could meet in what would have gone down as the battle of the century, a bell tolled overhead.

"Aww!" Came the matching groans from Naruto and Chouji as the chuunin instructors came out to gather us for more class. I snorted in amusement and turned to help Shino and Kiba up. I'd originally come up with the idea to start turning our games of ninja into practice for some of the things that the Rookie Nine, plus Neji, might come across in the future about two years ago. This time, I'd decided to turn our game into practice for what might happen if Danzou ended up taking over the Hokage's seat in the future, which I vaguely remembered happening at some point. Of course, many of the details of the game were different, but the possibility of a corrupt, power-hungry Hokage had remained the basis of the roleplaying aspect of today.

"Noooo!" Kiba cried, looking dismayed. "And it was just getting good, too!"

"We shall continue the escapades of 'The Power-Hungry Hokage' tomorrow, then," Neji said solemnly, and Chouji and Naruto nodded enthusiastically.

"I love playing the Hokage, even if he is supposed to be kind of evil. Are you sure that was a good idea, Yume-chan?" Naruto asked, turning to meet my eyes. I shrugged in response.

"It's just a game. Grandpa's not going to care," I said, and he stilled for a moment.

"Grandpa?" He repeated, sounding confused.

"Yeah, she's Sarutobi Yumeko, the granddaughter of Sandaime-sama. Didn't you know?" Ino asked, having dragged Shikamaru over by that point as we moved into line for our class. Neji had said goodbye and headed off to his own class at that point, and I could see miniature versions of Rock Lee and Tenten already waiting in that line.

"You're Grandpa Hokage's granddaughter?! He mentions you all the time, 'ttebayo!" Naruto said, slamming his little fist into his palm as if in realization. "He says that you're a little prodigy, whatever that means."

"Oh yeah, he mentions you all the time too," I lied, smiling at him brightly, and the way his whole face lit up told me that that had been the right thing to say. In my gut, though, anger was starting to broil. ' _No, he hasn't, and I'm going to find out why._ ' Everyone made noises of understanding at that, as if they'd suddenly realized why I'd approached Naruto seemingly randomly, and I wasn't going to correct them. I tended to just let people draw their own conclusions for my actions. Explaining was too much of a pain, and would have involved explaining future knowledge and reincarnation, so no.

Once we trooped back into the classroom, the rest of the day passed in a blur. Most of what we seemed to be covering was the basics of every subject, from math to history to simple chakra theory, and I knew I wasn't the only one bored out of their minds. Shikamaru slept through most of the day, not even bothering to hide it, and I even caught Shino drifting off once. These were all things that, as clan children, we'd had drilled into us. I assumed that the basics were meant to cover the education gap between ourselves and the civilian children, who'd likely not had the chance to learn them before now. All the same, it was boring beyond belief. When the final bell rang, I was relieved to dash out of there with my friends, and plans were already in place for what we were going to do with Naruto.

"My big brother is the best, you have to meet him," Sasuke was insisting as we all made our way out to the front of the Academy.

"Really, Sasu-chan? Do you mean it?" A voice called out, and the next thing we knew Sasuke was in a headlock, dangling from Shisui's arms as Itachi followed behind him, looking calmly murderous. That was the worst kind.

"Shisui, put down the hostage. This is between you and me," Itachi said coolly, and Naruto went utterly still, the only one of us not used to this.

"Hey, you leave him alone! Sasuke's my friend, 'ttebayo!" The little blond cried, rushing forward as if to tackle Shisui. He was prevented from doing so by Neji, who held out a hand in front of him as Shisui laughed and settled a red-faced Sasuke back down on the ground. He tried to kick his cousin in the ankle, but Shisui was a jounin for a reason and easily dodged out of the way, keeping Sasuke between him and Itachi the whole time.

"Aww, come on Sasu-chan, don't be like that. Don't you love me too?" He said, pouting, and Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest, his nose in the air.

"No," He replied, flatly, and I burst out into laughter at the overexaggerated, crestfallen look on Shisui's face.

"What's going on?" Naruto exclaimed, looking around at all of us and our mostly lacking reactions.

"Naruto-kun, that's just Shisui-san, Sasuke-kun's cousin," Ino said. "He likes playing pranks on Itachi-san and Sasuke-kun when they're not expecting it."

"And on unsuspecting Hyuuga too, right, Neji-kun?" Shisui said, grinning at Neji, who'd suddenly gone red. I raised an eyebrow and playfully nudged his shoulder.

"Something you're not telling us, Neji-kun?" I joked, and he grumbled something under his breath.

"Neji has been implicit in several of Shisui-san's pranks against the Main House Elders lately," Hinata said, smiling at her cousin serenely as he whirled to glare at her for ratting him out. Shino snorted in amusement at that, and Shikamaru rolled his eyes. Chouji was just watching everything like usual, entertained and filling his mouth with more rice balls. Kiba was dancing back and forth, looking like he needed to go to the bathroom, but then I noticed him point to the entrance and go rushing forward.

"Mom, Mom, come meet our new friend!" He shouted, latching onto Tsume as she appeared in the gateway. She laughed, scooping him up and settling him in a fireman's carry over her shoulder as she moved over to the rest of our group, Hana and her ninken on one side, Kuromaru on the other. Kiba was still happily chattering about Naruto when they reached us and she set him down.

"Uzumaki Naruto, huh? Nice to meet ya," She said, grinning down at him predatorily, her overly sharp canines on display. He swallowed, paling slightly, and nodded in greeting to her.

"Inuzuka-sama is harmless, Naruto-kun. She just likes scaring people," Hinata said, nudging him slightly, and he seemed to relax. Tsume barked in laughter at that, and reached out to ruffle Hinata's hair.

"Don't you go spreading that around, Hyuuga-hime. I have a reputation to keep up," She said, looking entertained at the way Hinata immediately began trying to fix her hair, aided by Ino. "Anyways brats, I came by to pick you up and bring you to our compound for today," She continued, and there was a cheer from Kiba.

"Yes! I forgot we were playing at my house today!" He said.

"It is not a playdate like usual, though. Why? Because we will be completing our homework first," Shino said, pushing up his shades. I frowned at him slightly, reaching over and adjusting them further up. He still hadn't grown into this pair, but they looked exactly like his Dad's so he'd insisted on buying them.

"Don't remind me," Shikamaru sighed, slouching and shoving his hands in his pockets.

"But wait, aren't there Kunoichi classes today?" Ino asked, frowning at us girls, and Hinata and I exchanged looks.

"Sorry Ino-chan, but we have tutors for that. And the boys, are, well, boys. They don't have to go," I said, and her face fell. I stepped over to her and put an arm around her shoulders, shooting her a bright smile. "Cheer up! I'm sure it'll be fine! Besides, it's only for an hour today, then you can meet up with the rest of us."

"Didn't Iruka-sensei mention you guys were going to be covering flower arranging today?" Chouji said, and Ino immediately brightened.

"Your mom said she was going to pick you up after classes," Tsume added, and Ino smiled even brighter. Her mother was usually busy, either with the flower shop or with her work as a kunoichi, so she wasn't as home as often as when Ino had been younger. Based on her work schedule, my theory was that she was in ANBU like Dad, but I hadn't said anything about it yet. I didn't have proof, for one. For another, I didn't think it would make a difference to Ino why exactly her mother was so often away.

"Wait, Itachi, why is the back of your neck green?" Hana asked, interrupting my train of thought, and Itachi immediately snapped his hand up to hide it.

"Big brother?" Sasuke said, turning, and looking up at him with wide eyes. Itachi's left eye twitched slightly as Shisui took off cackling, and then he was off in pursuit as well.

"What's their score now?" Chouji asked as we began to follow Tsume away from the Academy, now that the two Uchihas had disappeared.

"Pretty sure it was 52 for Itachi and 17 for Shisui. Well, 18 now," Hana piped up from the front, grinning as she kept half an eye on the Haimaru brothers and half an eye on us. Her puppies had grown in the past two years, and while were nowhere near catching up to Kuromaru in size, they were more Terrier sized than Chihuahua sized.

"My big brother is the best, see? Wasn't I telling you, Naruto?" Sasuke piped up, and as we walked we were regaled, for the umpteenth time, of the tale of Itachi's chuunin exams from two years ago. Naruto listened with wide eyes, entirely enraptured, while the rest of us mouthed along in sync and Chouji and Kiba pretended to act out certain scenes outside of Sasuke's line of sight.

"I'm still surprised that you can find a new way to change Itachi-san's 'final, triumphant victory' every time you tell that story," Shikamaru said, sounding amused as we finally reached the Inuzuka compound.

"Wait, what? It was all made up?" Naruto yelped in indignation, and we all started laughing. To the chorus of dogs barking in the distance, from the Inuzuka kennels near the north end of the compound, Tsume led our group inside as I attempted to explain to Naruto that Sasuke had a habit of embellishing most of his Itachi stories.

"I do not!" The boy in question insisted, as Hinata mouthed 'do too' right behind him, in view of Naruto, who started laughing. Sasuke shot us all a huffy look and stormed forward, trailed by a suddenly contrite and apologizing Naruto.

"Oops," I said, smiling sheepishly.

"Perhaps we should leave the embellishing be for a while. Why? Because Sasuke-kun is our friend and we should not tease him so much," Shino said, and there were nods of agreement among the rest of us.

"He'll cool off in a bit, brats, don't you worry," Tsume said.

"Who'll cool off?" Another voice asked, and I looked up to see Mama standing in the doorway of the Main House of the Inuzuka compound, Konohamaru peeking out from behind her. She'd retired from active duty after Konohamaru had been born, so she, Kanae and Yoshino, Shikamaru's mom, were usually the other moms present when we met up. My little brother's eyes lit up when he spotted me and he came toddling down the stairs, grinning.

"Big sis!" He shouted, and I moved forward to hug him, grinning just as widely.

"Hi, Ko-chan! Did you sleep OK?" I asked, swinging him up and spinning around. He giggled and then wrapped his arms around my middle as soon as I set him down.

"Yup! Chi-chan keeps bugging me though," He insisted, and Neji took off like a shot at the mention of his sister. There was a collective eye roll as the sounds of their reunion drifted through the open door, and Mama started laughing.

"Hey, Ma-chan, I don't suppose you saw where the little Uchiha ran off to, did ya?" Tsume asked. Kuromaru let out a huff at that and wandered off, past the corner of the house, the Haimaru brothers trailing him.

"He went to the backyard, a little blond boy following him," She said. I could feel the flicker of happiness and relief in her chakra as she mentioned him.

"Yup, the kids made a new friend. Says his name is Uzumaki Naruto," Tsume added.

"Ah, I see," Mama said, and while her face didn't give anything away, I knew that she was just about bursting with happiness on the inside. "There's snacks in the backyard, but I expect your schoolwork to be finished first before I catch any of you playing," Mama continued, giving us all one of her dangerous smiles. There was a brief pause among us, and then the entire group was racing for the backyard, not willing to suffer her wrath. I hadn't realized that all the adults around me had been such good friends with Minato and Kushina before they'd died, but I guess it made some sense. They were all around the same age, and Kushina would have been introduced to most of the moms via Mikoto. Minato would have known them from his time in the Academy.

"You're still the scariest, huh?" I heard Tsume joke as we rounded the corner, and Mama started laughing again.

"Hey, Ko-chan, is Hanabi-chan here today too?" I asked as we rounded the last corner of the house and immediately made our way over to the snack table. I grabbed a giant cookie and set to munching on it as Shino moved over to where Sasuke and Naruto were huddled and began to play peacemaker.

"Nope. Mama said she wasn't feeling good and stayed home," He said, watching me eat my cookie with wide, sad eyes till I handed him one as well.

"Hanabi-chan wasn't feeling well, or Hikari-sama?" I asked quietly, correcting him, and he shrugged, still munching on his cookie. Hinata's mom hadn't been feeling her best since Hanabi had been born about two years ago, and so she had good days and bad. I'd thought she was fine this morning, but it must have tired her out more than she'd let on. I smiled at him slightly and reached out to tug on the little ponytail Mama had gathered his hair into for the day. It waved in the breeze and sat directly on top of his head, and was frankly adorable. He'd started growing out his hair because he 'wanted to be like Mama and Big Sis' and Dad had lamented over his lack of love for days after.

"Noooo!" He whined, trying to bat my hand away, and I let him with a laugh.

"Hey, I gotta do these worksheets, but we can play right after, OK?" I said, and he pouted but nodded. I made my way over to the porch, where Neji had brought out Chizuru and was already working on his own homework. I settled in beside him, giving Chi-chan a bright smile as she waved at me happily. She looked just like her mom, all elegant angles and pale lilac eyes, even though there was still some remnant baby fat, but with her Dad's thicker black hair. She was dressed in an adorable little blue yukata today, and was lying across her brother's back and playing with his hair as she told him about her day.

"And then, Ko-chan and I took some cookies from Yoshino-sama, when she wasn't looking, and we gave them to the Haimaru brothers!" She said, and Neji stiffened.

"They didn't have any chocolate in them, right Chi-chan?" I asked, laying down on my stomach beside Neji and pulling out from my bag the one sheet of questions we had to answer for the day. It was something of a questionnaire, meant to figure out what we already knew and what needed to have more emphasis put on it in class. Neji had way more work, in the area of chakra theory and math, but he didn't seem to mind. He was breezing through it, and as I glanced it over I could see why. These were all things I'd learned when I'd first started getting tutored by Ebisu when I was four, and the math was basic stuff from before…things.

"No!" Chizuru huffed, pouting at me. Konohamaru was now laying across my back in a similar position, so I was forced to twist my head at an awkward angle to be able to look at them both. "Just sugar and stuff. You know, the ones Yoshino-sama usually makes!" I pretended to nod in understanding, though I didn't actually know what she was talking about. I usually just ate the food available, I didn't ask who had made what.

"Big sis doesn't know what you mean," Konohamaru whispered, and I immediately reached around to try and grab for him. He let out a giggle and rolled away, popping to his feet and taking off into the house.

"That's right, you better run! Traitor!" I called after him, grinning, but turned back to my work almost immediately. I was soon joined by Shino on my other side, and then the rest of the group. Kiba and Naruto took the longest to settle down, unsurprisingly, but it didn't take most of us all that long to finish. When I was done, I turned to Neji and we began quietly working on his stuff together.

"Woah, you know cool jutsu already?" Naruto's voice suddenly burst out from down the line, and I turned to see Sasuke preening slightly. They must have been sharing answers or something.

"Of course! But my big brother knows even more," He responded, and there was a collective groan from the rest of us.

"Please, for the love of Kami-sama, don't start listing them," I begged, and was treated to a glare from Sasuke and a surprised look from Naruto.

"Wait, you have them all memorized?" Naruto said, sounding astounded, and Sasuke fidgeted uncomfortably at that.

"Well, no, not all of them. He's memorized a bunch with his Sharingan that he hasn't told me about, but I know most of them!" He insisted. Naruto looked utterly confused.

"Sharingan? What's that?" There was a gasp from Sasuke, Neji and Hinata, all of whom immediately sat up and stared at the poor, suddenly overwhelmed boy. Chizuru had sat up as well, so she thankfully hadn't gone rolling into something.

"Troublesome. Hyuugas, Uchiha, leave him be. He wasn't raised in a clan like the rest of us," Shikamaru said, rousing himself only enough to shoot quelling looks at our friends before settling back down, reaching over Shino to poke me so that I'd take over. I rolled my eyes but sat up as well.

"The Sharingan is one of the three known types of doujutsu, linked to the Uchiha clan since their founding. The other type in Konoha is the Byakugan, linked to the Hyuuga clan. They both have their own special abilities, like how the Sharingan lets you memorize a jutsu once you've seen it performed, and how the Byakugan gives the user basically 360-degree vision. There are more abilities that they offer, but I don't feel like going into detail about the stuff I know, and I'm sure there are some secret clan things that I have no idea about. Basically, the doujutsu make it so that the Hyuuga and the Uchiha are constantly trying to one up each other because neither one wants to admit that there really isn't a point of comparison between the two," I said, and settled back down as Neji and Sasuke immediately started arguing over my head.

"Yumeko-hime, I didn't know that you knew about the different doujutsu," Kiba said, rolling onto his side to look over at me, and I had to struggle to not react with more than a shrug in response. When would he quit it with that stupid nickname?!

"It was absorbed over time. Why? Because certain clan heads never stop talking about them," Shino responded for me, and I raised a hand and fluttered it in a 'so-so' gesture.

"Yes, but I also spend a lot of time reading. Grandpa lets me into the Hokage archives sometimes when I get really bored, so I picked up some stuff from there too," I said, and Chouji made the appropriate noise of awe at that. That was only technically true. Grandpa had let me access the Hokage archives a time or two, but only to grab some books on advanced chakra control and iryou-ninjutsu, things that I wouldn't have had access to otherwise. I just used that as an excuse to explain away anything that I shouldn't know, things that I only knew because of my knowledge of the future.

"Have you always had access to the archives?" Shikamaru asked, suddenly interested.

"Yeah, pretty much. Don't go spreading it around, though. Grandpa might end up cutting me off if he finds out I told people," I lied, and Shikamaru shrugged. He was too lazy to bother, and Ino, our resident gossip, wasn't around for me to worry about. Besides, the arguing Hyuuga and Uchiha overheard drowned out most of what the rest of us were saying.

"Wait, that's only two! What about the third?" Naruto suddenly shouted, and I looked over at him. ' _Should I be worried about how long it took him to figure that out?_ '

"Naruto-kun has a point. What is the third?" Hinata asked, pulling on Neji's arm to get him to stop and lay back down. He did so with a glare at Sasuke, who was preening again. Chizuru immediately resumed using him as a pillow.

"The Rinnegan. They say that the Sage of Six Paths used them, but not much else is known. They've faded into legend, much the same way most of the Sage's exploits did," I said, and Naruto grinned.

"That sounds so cool! That's it, when I become Hokage, I'm gonna learn this Rinnegan too!" He shouted, and I smiled a little. I didn't feel like correcting him about it not being a thing he could learn.

"Why are you already shouting?" Ino's voice asked from behind us, and there was a chorus of greetings as she settled in between Shikamaru and Chouji, rolling Shikamaru over onto his back as she did so to make room. He made a noise of protest, but didn't try to fight back.

"Tomorrow I'm going to introduce you all to Sakura-chan, so you better be nice!" She added, propping her chin up with one hand as she began telling the story of how she'd made a friend in her kunoichi class.

"Why didn't you invite her to hang out with us?" Chouji asked, getting up and moving over to the snack table to retrieve some grapes for him and Ino.

"I did, but her Mom and Dad came to pick her up, so she had to go with them. They said something about a party," She replied, shrugging. "Oh, but my Mom and her Dad know each other from when they were chuunin, so she invited them to come along to our compound tomorrow," She continued, and I frowned. ' _Huh? Since when had one of Sakura's parents been a ninja? Wasn't she civilian raised?_ '

"Oh man, now we're back to odd numbers for ninja!" Kiba complained, and Ino rolled her eyes.

"I'll just go back to playing the princess, then," She said, grinning at the thought, and Shikamaru grumbled something under his breath beside her. I winced at the sudden explosion from her direction as she proceeded to try and strangle him, and got up to flee. I was joined by Shino and Neji, and we proceeded to use the snack table as a fort to escape Ino's wrath. Naruto, Sasuke and Hinata joined us almost immediately, while Chizuru fled into the house, Kiba proceeded to egg her on and Chouji tried to save his best friend. Naruto was laughing all the while, and I smiled. ' _Finally. **Finally**._ '

* * *

A/N(continued): Yay, Academy entrance! And Shisui, Naruto, Sakura, Iruka, Konohamaru and Chizuru introductions, whoop!

Things should be picking up from here (I hope? I don't know, probably), so look forward to what's coming next guys! This week's chapter ought to be coming out on Thursday, but don't hold me to that just yet. I could get bowled over by the flu again, who knows with my immune system.

Anyways, thanks so much for reading, everyone, and I hope you all have a marvelous day and week! :)


	8. Academy Arc: Repeated Blows

The full Author's Note is found at the bottom. Enjoy the new chapter, guys!

Naruto still belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

* * *

Chapter 6-Academy Arc: Repeated Blows

"Glass & peace alike betray proof of fragility under repeated blows."-David Mitchell

* * *

It was a warm, sunny day in July, a few months after we'd all started at the Academy, when things first started to change. And not for the better.

"And then, Ebisu-sensei grabs the tag and chucks it in the koi pond, and when it exploded all of the fish went flying! I was apologizing for _hours_ to the fish after, but I got to name them, so I guess it was OK. Ichigo-san said that he'd been wanting to make the pond bigger anyways, so I really did them a favour," Naruto chattered away, telling the group all about his adventures with fuuinjutsu from the night before. I'd convinced Mama to let me start bringing Naruto to my training sessions, as he was so far behind most of the class it was ridiculous. Not only had he not known how to read or write, but math was impossible to him, let alone any of the other things we were learning. ' _Stupid orphanage caretakers. Assholes._ '

Ebisu-sensei had taken some convincing, but Nanami-sensei had been all for it. I felt like part of that was because I'd confronted her the week before about her dual life as Sparrow, one of my ANBU guards, and she'd ordered me not to say anything to anyone. I'd figured it out a while before, because their chakra signatures were the exact same, but I hadn't thought to bring it up until it occurred to me that I might need some form of blackmail to convince her to teach Naruto as well.

"Are you sure you should be playing with explosive tags, Naruto-kun?" Ino asked, concerned, and Naruto immediately puffed up.

"I wasn't playing with them! I was making them! Right, Yume-chan?" He turned to me, and I shrugged.

"Ebisu-sensei had us working on calligraphy, Naruto-kun. He said, and I quote, 'Your writing is abysmal and I won't let you anywhere _near_ sealing supplies until I can actually _read_ it!'," I responded, mimicking his 'I'm so superior' pose as I did so, pretending to be pushing up a pair of glasses on my nose. He giggled at that, as did Ko-chan, and I smiled.

"Troublesome. How did you make an explosive tag then?" Shikamaru asked from his position on the couch. He'd been pretending to nap, as per usual. Chouji was settled beside him with a big bowl of chips, happily munching away. The Haimaru brothers, exhausted after some training session Hana had put them through the day before, were snoozing away in a pile beside him. Hana herself was on the other couch, holding Kiba in her lap and attempting to pick the pine needles out of his hair that he'd gotten when he fell out of the tree in Shino's front yard. Shisui and Itachi were next, Hinata between them and attempting to make sure Shisui behaved.

On the floor between the couches, settled on cushions much like how we did at my house, was me, Naruto, Ko-chan, Ino and Sakura. Sasuke and Shino had disappeared into the kitchen a moment ago to get us some more snacks and drinks. Neji and Chi-chan weren't here today, as it had been Chizuru's third birthday yesterday and they were apparently still recovering. Not that I could fathom what they'd been up to that it required two days of recovery time, but it wasn't my business.

"Well, he left an example just sitting there. What else was I gonna do with it?" Naruto asked, a mischievous grin on his face, and Sakura giggled quietly. Out of all of us, she tended to appreciate his pranks the most. Well, she and Shisui, but I was trying to discourage him from making our resident Uzumaki even worse.

"He left those out so I could get an idea of what basic arrays looked like, not for you to copy and explode," I reminded him, but I didn't mind all that much. The look on Ebisu-sensei's face when a koi had smacked into it and knocked off his shades had been priceless.

"Come on Yume-chan, it was funny!" Naruto pouted, and I flopped over and rolled away, pretending to ignore him. He let out a yelp of indignation and came scrambling after me, just in time for Sasuke to arrive with another tray of dumplings. Used to us by now, he easily dodged around our flailing pile of limbs and deposited the food in his brother's lap. Shino waited in the kitchen with a pitcher of juice, not willing to risk it.

"OK, that's enough," Another voice said, and suddenly I was dangling in the air by the back of my neck. I hissed in irritation, getting a laugh from a suddenly much closer wrinkled face, its big nose having a wart in full display, red lines extending down its cheeks and a hitai-ate with the kanji for oil on full display across the forehead.

" _He/She started it_!" Naruto and I shouted at the same time, and grinned at each other. Jiraiya shook his head at us both and set us down, before suddenly striking some manner of pose as Shizuko entered the living room.

"Stop with the posing, Pervy Gramps. You're gonna make me go blind," Naruto said, tugging at his godfather's pants leg until Jiraiya scooped him up and placed him on his shoulder.

"Blind?! You watch your tone, brat, the Great Toad Sannin knows exactly what he's doing!" He snapped in response, but I could feel the amusement in his chakra. Jiraiya had returned to Konoha two weeks prior to deliver some sort of report, and been conscripted by Grandpa to come up with some sort of fuuinjutsu lesson plan for me and Naruto. Mostly Naruto, because despite his abysmal calligraphy he was already leagues ahead of me when it came to intrinsically understanding how seals worked. My guess was that it was some of his Uzumaki heritage peeking through, though both of his parents had been good with seals, so who could say?

Jiraiya hadn't said anything to Naruto about being his godfather, or his relation to the boy's parents, and I wasn't going to rat him out. Mostly because there was no real way for me to have known these things, but also because he'd been treating Naruto well, so I was going to leave it be. If he would start showing up more in Naruto's life because of this, I wasn't complaining.

"Hinata-hime, your parents are here," Shizuko finally said, interrupting the shouting match between Jiraiya and Naruto, who was being dangled by his leg this time. Hinata got up to calls of farewell from the assembled group, and the rest of us went back to listening to Naruto telling more stories about his pranks. Shisui appeared to be taking notes now that Hinata wasn't around to stop him, and I endeavoured to sick the Haimaru brothers on that notepad the first chance I got. Some evils were not meant to exist in this world. Itachi and I exchanged a look and a nod. We were on the same page then.

* * *

It was the next morning when I realized why a two-day recovery period should have bothered me, because when we met up to all walk to the Academy, it was with a distant Neji and a visibly upset Hinata. Ino immediately engulfed her in a hug, Sakura standing a little awkwardly on her other side, whispering frantically to each other as Neji stared off into the distance, refusing to acknowledge anything around him. Shino and I exchanged concerned looks and immediately moved to bracket either side of him, me taking his hand and squeezing it. Still no reaction, though, and I gnawed on my lip in thought as we continued our walk, our group quiet.

"Welp, kiddies, good luck today," Shisui said, trying to inject some cheer into his voice, but I could feel his concern as well. He really liked Neji, in part because he'd taken him under his wing for pranks, but also because they just got along really well. I hadn't expected our resident Uchiha prankster and my best friend to get along as well as they did, but I guess some people just clicked. Hana was watching us all quietly, and the Haimaru brothers tried to pull Neji out of his stupor by rolling around and prancing in front of him, but still nothing.

Itachi hadn't been on hand to walk us today, having left on some mission right after our meet up the other day, or I would have tried to get him to talk to Neji. They had a lot in common, so it was usually Itachi that I turned to whenever I couldn't manage to talk to Neji. Suddenly a thought hit me, and I felt myself growing cold. Paying more attention to his chakra, I could feel the raging regret and anger. Also, a lot of sadness, but it was being overshadowed by everything else he was feeling.

"Did something happen to Chi-chan?" I asked, quietly enough so only he could hear, and he started slightly. He turned his head to meet my gaze, and I saw nothing but despair there.

"I couldn't protect her," He choked out, and the others all turned to look at us. Hinata went pale, and immediately padded over to give Neji a hug. Normally, he would have resisted more, but he was apparently numb enough to the world that he was letting someone other than myself, Shino, Chizuru or his mother touch him. Hinata was his cousin, sure, but he'd always treated her more deferentially, so displays of affection had been off the table.

Shino and I moved away to let them talk quietly, and they whispered back and forth for a moment, mostly Hinata doing the talking. Finally, Neji turned and walked away, off into the school building, and Hinata turned to the rest of us with a wan smile.

"I'm sorry, but it's…clan business. We…can't…talk about it," She said, hesitating, and I frowned. Chizuru had been branded with the Caged Bird seal then, and if I knew anything about this current Neji, it's that he would have fought tooth and nail to prevent them from marking his baby sister like that. It would explain his reaction, because his inability to do anything to protect her from the same fate as the rest of his family would have hit him hard. ' _Wait…fate. Damn it, no. Please no._ '

I let myself be led into the school as the warning bell rang overhead, informing us we didn't have much time before classes started. Inwardly, I was fuming and despairing. Fuming because it wasn't fair, why would they seal a little girl? I didn't care what the clan policy was, she was just a child! Then, despairing because I was worried what this would do to Neji, whether he'd start to turn into the person he'd been at the beginning of the manga, and because there was nothing I could do or say to help him. I shouldn't have even known anything about the Hyuuga seal, so trying to talk to him about it would just make me look suspicious.

For a moment, I didn't care about drawing suspicion to myself. Neji was my best friend, damn it, and seeing him hurting like this made my heart ache. But, regardless of how much I cared about him, I couldn't risk exposing myself. My reincarnation and knowledge of the future needed to remain a secret if I wanted to stand even half a chance of making a difference in this world. ' _I'm sorry, Neji, but I can't. Not yet. I'll try and think of something, I swear._ '

The day passed by in a blur. At lunch break Neji sat with us, but he was cool and distant. I struggled to even look at him, so caught up was I in not only my guilt over my silence but also in my plots to try and fix this mess. I could tell we were worrying Shino, given the way he kept watching us, but there was nothing to be done.

After school had ended, we waited for Neji by the front gates, only for one of his passing classmates to tell us he'd gotten into trouble and was staying late for detention. There were looks exchanged among us, mostly concern, but I could feel the fear in Hinata's chakra. He would get in trouble with the Main House Elders for this, and Kami-sama only knew how this would reflect on not only his parents, but the recently branded Chizuru. Were the Main House Elders callous and cruel enough to punish Neji by hurting his sister instead of him? I was scared to think about it, but somehow, I got the feeling that the answer was yes, regardless of how it broke my heart.

"Umm, do you know why he has detention?" I asked, and the boy couldn't meet my eyes. ' _Oh, it's really bad, isn't it?_ '

"He lost it during our taijutsu class. Said something about fate and prodigies and dead lasts, and completely destroyed the lowest ranked kid in our class during their spar. He always beats everyone, but he doesn't usually treat the loser badly after," The boy admitted, and then went running off when his friends called him along. He shot me an apologetic smile before he did so, but I was still left reeling.

"Hey, Yume-chan, it's gonna be OK. Big bro Itachi will be back in a few days, I'm sure he can talk to him!" Naruto chimed in, trying to cheer me up, and I gave him a tremulous smile.

"Hey kiddies! Look who came to pick you up again!" Shisui called out as he appeared before us, Hana running along behind him and shouting for him to 'stop using your Shunshin to cheat, damn it!' His smile immediately faltered as he took in the mood, and reached a hand up to rub at the back of his neck.

"Neji still not OK?" He asked, and I shook my head.

"He's gotta stay back for detention," Chouji said, his voice quiet, and Shisui winced.

"Oh man, what a pain. Well, guess I'll just stay back for him then. Hana and the pups can take you over to the Uchiha compound, no problem." Even though I should have felt better about Shisui staying back to wait, I didn't. I didn't know of anything that would help Neji now, nothing any of us could say because nobody but Hinata and I knew what the actual problem was. Hinata must have been trying to help in her own way, but she wasn't as close to Neji as I was. ' _If only I could help him, damn it! Izumi, what would you have done?_ '

It was embarrassing to admit, but I'd taken to making internal promises to and asking for advice from the girl whose death I'd caused. It probably wasn't the best coping mechanism for dealing with what had happened, but in a twisted sort of way it made me feel better. I was trying to be as kind as Itachi and Hana had said she had been, but some days were harder than others. I was also, like Hana, going to try my hardest to become a jounin and protect the village, like she would have done. Well, that and because it would mean that I had the strength to help my friends with what was to come.

* * *

Months passed like this, with no outward change from Neji. He remained distant and cool with us, but whenever he was around Hyuuga Main Branch members and people he considered 'beneath' him, he was bitter and cruel. After Itachi had returned he'd tried talking to Neji, getting him to open up, but to no avail. Chizuru was still her bright, chipper self whenever we saw her, but Ko-chan confided in me that she'd told him that she feared what was happening at home, and for her brother.

What was making things worse was that word had gotten out among the Hyuuga clan that Neji was indeed a little prodigy, already beginning to reach a level of mastery with the Juuken style that surpassed many Main House genin who were several years his senior. His attitude change was making them look down on him with even more contempt, and he'd begun suffering for it. There was only so much that Hinata could do to protect him from the Main House Elders, and I could see her growing paler and more worried as time passed us by. She'd even started stuttering again, a change that had sparked ire in Ino, who'd demanded to know what was happening with them. Hinata had refused to tell her, citing clan business once more, and so they currently weren't speaking.

I…I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what to say, how to fix this mess that was rapidly spiralling out of my control. I didn't think there was a way for me to fix it, no method I might use to force Neji out of this downward spiral he'd flung himself into. I'd definitely been thinking about it, but things like defeating him in a spar or besting him in some other ninja technique would do nothing to help him. I was no Naruto, and besides, I was considered just as much of a prodigy, so two prodigies going at it would do nothing to change his mind about fate.

Speaking of prodigies, it turned out that there were all manner of different checklists and tests one needed to complete in order to be considered one. I didn't understand where that had come from, but when Iruka-sensei had approached me about taking some of the qualification tests near the beginning of our first year, I'd been surprised at the request. I'd simply just assumed that 'prodigy' was a title one gained over their time as a shinobi, once they'd demonstrated high levels of proficiency in, well, basically everything. That was how it had worked for Itachi and Kakashi, right?

I'd ended up taking them anyway, and while Mama and Dad had seemed proud of my accomplishments and my new status, I could tell they were also worried about it. Not too long after, Academy policies were changed to prevent early graduations regardless of 'prodigy' status or not, and I began to grow suspicious that these changes were happening because of me.

Around the same time, we had our first Academy sanctioned medical evaluations. It was a yearly thing for Academy students to undergo a medical exam, to determine how we were growing, how our chakra systems were doing, and just check that we were physically healthy. When Nanami-sensei had been the one to run my medical exam, and only mine, I knew that something was going on. Why my family was pulling so many strings for me, I didn't know. I didn't understand why they were trying to hide any information about me, unless they were worried about someone like Danzou gaining access to them. The Elder hadn't been seen in public life in more than a year now, though, so I was left utterly confused at what was happening.

We had discovered, though, that my chakra system was more advanced than other children my age. Nanami-sensei had explained that I'd been born with a fully functioning chakra system, so it wasn't that unusual considering the circumstances. I'd asked her how rare that was, and she'd hesitated before telling me that records in Konoha stated that only about a hundred other children had been born with the same condition, and about half of them hadn't survived the birthing process. I'd been very lucky, apparently.

The other reason behind my advanced chakra system? My higher than usual spiritual chakra levels. Nanami-sensei chalked that off as being related to my status as a prodigy, but I had to wonder if it wasn't related to the reincarnation instead. However, the difference between my spiritual and physical chakra levels wasn't horribly different, and I was suddenly grateful that I'd put so much effort into physical training as well. The thought of how disparate the levels could have been had me worried about what that would have meant for this apparent campaign of my family's to keep me safe.

* * *

Almost a year later, in May of our second year at the Academy, Neji had become almost unrecognizable to me. I still tried to talk to him sometimes, but it was like speaking at a brick wall. A brick wall that spouted nonsense about fate, and was usually only willing to talk to me about our position as top ranked in both of our years, but a brick wall nonetheless.

In response, our group had begun to drift apart, with Ino on one side, refusing to deal with the Hyuuga drama until someone told her why it was happening, supported by Sakura, Kiba, Chouji and Shikamaru. I knew that the latter two were doing it because they'd all three been a unit for so long it felt weird to go against it, and I didn't begrudge them their decision. On the other side was me, Hinata, Shino, Sasuke and Naruto. Neji was there too, on the periphery, but he'd started spending a lot less time with us.

While I would like to say that I devoted a decent chunk of my time to trying and figuring out a way to help Neji and the Branch House Members in that year, I suddenly found myself busy attempting to handle a workload far above that of any of my peers. I was the top-ranked student in our year, due in large part to the fact that book work was easy for me after having lived through another life where I'd already learned most everything they were teaching us, and because I had two tutors to cover the aspects of life specific to my current world. Thus, school wasn't the problem right now. The problems were that I was now old enough to start training with my chakra weights, at the age of eight, that I had a sudden reputation to maintain, and that I was starting in on the more difficult aspects of iryou-nin training.

The reputation had to do with my official status as a prodigy, and as the top student in the year. Apparently, people thought that I'd managed to gain my position by way of my family's position in the village, which I guess I could understand. However, they were wrong. I'd worked my ass off up till now, and I wasn't interested in being the best because of arrogance or some inflated sense of self-worth. I was doing it to gather enough strength and influence to protect the people around me, and if nobody understood that, fine. I'd just have to keep working at it until they believed that everything I'd gained was by my own merit.

The medical training was much more interesting than childhood dramatics, and mostly consisted of more difficult chakra control exercises, as well as the intense study of anatomy, biology, biochemistry, etc. In other words, the essential scientific areas of study required to become an iryou-nin. I'd been doing a lot of this stuff before…well, before, so I had a pretty good understanding already. My issues had to do with translating concepts to a new language, and with the added layer of chakra messing everything up.

They said that chakra was a mixture of the spiritual and physical energies in the body, that it was necessary to sustain life. Chakra was also the main difference between this world and my original, enabling basically everything that allowed people to be shinobi. It was in the air, in the ground and in the water, and people couldn't live without even the tiniest amount of it. While that was all well and good, the way that chakra had its own network within the body, coils and tenketsu connected to the major organs, muscular and skeletal structures, winding their way through and around the various tissues, made studying the human body and how it worked an even more difficult prospect than it already had been. The most minor change to a person's chakra system could cause who knew what kind of damage, which is one of the reasons why the Hyuuga Juuken style was quite so dangerous. Inserting foreign chakra into another person's system and blocking their tenketsu could cause major damage if left alone.

I wasn't exactly…having trouble with understanding these theoretical concepts, it was more of the putting it into practice bit that had me stumped. It was why I was still stuck on the most basic practical aspect of medical training, which was the fish test. The stupid, stupid, fish test. I wasn't going to get into it, but suffice to say I was _not_ doing well when it came to compensating for the stupid fish's internal chakra network.

Back to Neji though. The adults had seemingly figured out what was wrong months ago, but their hands were just as tied as my own. Those who understood what the problem was were sworn to 'clan secrecy', those who had guessed weren't willing to tell us anything either, and those who had no genuine clue why our group was fragmenting down a line weren't willing to interfere. My guess was that their theory was that we were kids and we'd just get over it, but I disagreed with that. We weren't just kids, we were shinobi in training, and that meant thinking and acting differently than we would have if we were 'just children'.

Ino was looking at this as a problem she could solve if she just had the right information, which wasn't entirely wrong. That was how we shinobi usually operated, using the information we had gathered about our missions to plan a way to get them done. What she didn't and couldn't understand was that there was more to this problem than she alone could fix, whether she had the right information or not. The entirety of the Hyuuga clan needed fixing, not just Neji, and until someone managed to figure out a way to stop their barbaric branding, there wouldn't be a way to help. Neji was just a symptom of a greater, corrupted system, and until you fixed what was causing the symptoms, just treating them would only help in the short term.

* * *

Looking back on those days, it occurs to me now that the reason I began to miss so many vital clues as to how my presence had changed things was because of these childish dramas. I was so caught up in them, so focused on trying to fix things that would have sorted themselves out anyway, that I missed the biggest clue of them all. Out of the long list of regrets I've developed over the years, what I missed about the next event is on top of the list.

* * *

It was a gusty, May evening when _it_ happened. Naruto, Sasuke and I had taken up going for walks through the village to replace the playdates we'd once had. Hinata and Shino sometimes joined us, but both had elected to remain behind today, so it was just us three. Us three, a silent Itachi trailing us from the rooftops, a slightly inconspicuous patrol of Konoha Military Police of whom Shisui was a member, and three equally silent squads of ANBU. Two of them were from the Hokage Guard platoon, as I could recognize the usual squads led by Bear and Badger. The other squad was new, but I assumed they were probably there to keep an eye on Naruto.

"Oh, buzz off," I muttered, glaring at a civilian that had stopped in front of us and opened their mouth, gaze fixated on Naruto. Sasuke let out a sharp whistle, as if summoning someone, and the civilian immediately paled and went running past us, glancing around frantically. Naruto let out a forced laugh and brought his hands up to lace them behind his neck, elbows pointed out, in his most casual pose.

"It's like they think you can summon the Military Police or something," He joked, and I playfully nudged him.

"Considering that Itachi-san is trailing us from the roofs, and Shisui-san's patrol has diverted from their usual route to follow us, pretty sure he can," I said, electing not to mention the ANBU, and Sasuke lit up at the mention of his brother.

"Big brother has been off on a lot of missions lately, since his promotion to full jounin. It's nice that he could take the time to help us with Naruto," He said, and I shrugged.

"We've been handling it pretty well ourselves. It usually helps when Shino is around though. His kikaichu scare off most anyone who thinks of saying anything," I replied, and I could feel Naruto's chakra moving around more sluggishly, reflecting his sadness. I nudged him again at the same time as Sasuke poked his forehead, and he spluttered at us both.

"We don't care about them, remember? You're our friend, so that means we've got your back. 'Tarnished reputations' or not," I said, shooting an innocent smile at an older civilian woman who'd been glaring at Naruto as we moved past. She softened, fluttering her hand at me in a wave and calling out a greeting, as per how I was usually treated. I politely responded in kind, but inwardly I was fuming. ' _Damn hypocrites. Naruto's related to a Hokage too, you're all just too blind to notice!_ '

"I just don't like how they glare at you guys too," Naruto muttered, scuffing one of his shoes in the road as we walked. Sasuke and I exchanged looks over his head, and I shrugged. We had this conversation at least once a week. It wasn't like we could just suddenly cut off Naruto from the rest of the village, nor could I say anything that would make them treat him better, so we were stuck with how things were. He was happy when it was just us and our families, especially since my family and the Uchihas had started splitting his meals and sleepovers between us. I wasn't even sure when the last time he'd been in his apartment was.

Jiraiya and Grandpa mostly approved. They'd had a long conversation with Fugaku, Mikoto and my Mama and Dad before we'd started having Naruto over as often as we did. I wasn't sure what had been said or promised, but Mama had come back looking triumphant and informed Naruto he'd be sleeping over at our house that night. Naruto had been so ecstatic he'd almost been bouncing off the walls, and I hadn't been able to stop smiling the whole day. I didn't know what had changed, what made it possible for us to basically adopt Naruto and share him between ourselves and the Uchihas, but I wasn't complaining.

The Uchiha clan was definitely in a much better position than they'd been at this point in canon, if I was any judge of things. Fugaku's friendship with the other Clan Heads, and the opening of not only his compound but the Military Police to the rest of the village, had really done a lot to dispel most of the negativity towards the clan. Plus, there hadn't been a massacre last year, so I was cautiously optimistic about things. The problem of Danzou notwithstanding.

It was then that the first rumble of the ground hit, and I grabbed Naruto's arm in sudden panic. ' _Konoha doesn't have earthquakes, what the hell?_ ' Sasuke was looking around, wide-eyed, as some of the items for sale on the various stands in the market we'd begun to pass through were knocked out of place. Apples, heads of lettuce, oranges and various other fruits and vegetables went scattering across the ground, and several vases and other ceramics that had been on display came crashing to the earth below. The ground continued to shake for a few seconds more before subsiding, and I held tightly to Naruto the whole time as I tried to maintain my balance. People around us began shouting back and forth in confusion, and I could feel the flickering of worry and confusion in the people nearest us.

That was when the explosion of sound in the distance reached us, and I watched as, to the southeast of Konoha, a giant beam of white light shot up into the sky. It lasted for a few moments, seeming to blot out the sun with its sheer intensity, before dissipating. There was shock among the people around us at that, and now Naruto was clinging to both me and Sasuke, white-knuckled.

"What was that? Are we under attack?" A random voice called out, and the panic began to set in. Panic that was aided by the massive chunk of debris that landed in the middle of the market square before other pieces began to fall around us and onto the village as a whole. I felt myself being scooped up into a pair of arms and the flicker of chakra as we moved away from the crash site, the ANBU guard who'd grabbed me using Shunshin to make it a faster trip. I could sense Naruto, Sasuke and Itachi right behind us, and relaxed.

"We'll leave you under guard at the Sarutobi compound," A monotone voice said, and I nodded tightly. It was just Sparrow, so I wasn't concerned. If she was leaving us at the compound instead of the evacuation shelters though, then we weren't under attack. But then…what had caused that huge explosion?

I wouldn't get an inkling of why until much later, after the ANBU had dropped us off and Naruto and Sasuke had been picked up by a frantic Mikoto. Itachi had stuck with Naruto's protective ANBU squad at the time, and hadn't revealed his presence. I'd stayed with Ko-chan, who'd been freaked out by the earthquake and explosion and needed reassuring, until Mama and Dad came home. Nanami-sensei, having removed her ANBU mask out of our sight earlier, had stayed with us till they arrived. Mama had stepped out for shopping, but since she'd come back in full uniform along with Dad, very late at night, it meant that she must have been drafted into investigating what had happened.

"They feel asleep waiting?" Dad's voice asked, and I curled a little tighter around Konohamaru. He was asleep, I was just pretending. I'd matched the slower fluctuations of my chakra to Ko-chan's, to mimic sleep, and I'd slowed my breathing. I wasn't sure how good at sensing either of my parents, or Nanami-sensei, were, but it was probably still a good idea to fake it all the same. We were laid out on one of the couches in the living room, having been moved there by Nanami-sensei when we'd first started to drift off.

"They wanted to wait for you, but Konohamaru-chan fell asleep first. Yumeko-chan drifted off not too long ago," I heard her say.

"Good. Damn, but I'm glad that they're both OK after what we just saw," Dad said, and I heard people moving around. Next thing I knew, I was being pulled away from my little brother and being carried by Dad. I remained carefully limp as he adjusted me in his arms. I could sense Mama had lifted Konohamaru, and that Nanami-sensei was still trailing behind them.

"It was bad, then?" There was a quiet scoffing noise from Mama at that.

"Horrific. So many little bodies. Most everything is just ash. There were a couple of kids in one of the bunkers that escaped the worst of it, and ANBU is processing them now," She said, and I fought to stay relaxed. ' _An Orochimaru base? Or Danzou's ROOT base?_ '

"Elder Shimura's dead. We found him in an office at the top of the base, protected by several seal arrays. Our top fuuinjutsu people are looking at them, but it might take a while to get through. He was a wily old bastard," Dad added. Well, that answered that question.

"So, the ROOT rumors were true then," Came Nanami-sensei's quiet voice. I felt Mama put Konohamaru down in his room, and then move to rejoin us as we entered what I assumed was my room. I made sure to stay nice and limp as Dad settled me in and tucked my covers around me.

"It's looking like it. Whoever killed him and destroyed the base left the records untouched though, so I guess we'll be sorting through paperwork for the next few weeks," Dad said, sounding pained at the thought. I felt a kiss being pressed to my forehead, and he smoothed my hair before I sensed him move away and shut the door.

"At least some of those kids are safe. I'm kind of grateful someone ended up taking him out, and saving us the trouble. Sick asshole," Dad grumbled outside my door, and I heard a quiet whacking noise and a subsequent whine of pain from him. ' _Mama, definitely._ '

I rolled over and stared at the wall, trying to process all this new information. There…there was no way I had caused this, right? No, absolutely not. I shook my head, endeavouring to deal with it in the morning, and settled into sleep.

* * *

In the weeks that followed the explosion, as clean-up for the fallen debris and subsequent village-wide repairs progressed, everything and anything to do with ROOT was covered up. Danzou was claimed to have peacefully died in his sleep, and there was a big memorial and everything. I'd been forced to attend, but had spent most of it trying to puzzle through who would have taken the effort to kill him and destroy his base, but leave so many records for the Hokage and ANBU to go through this early in the timeline.

On top of that, why? I think that Obito had hated him for whatever reason, though I couldn't remember anymore. As time had continued to pass, I'd felt more of my memories of the plot beginning to slip. I was fairly certain I still had a good grasp of the general outline of the years to come, but most of what I remained focused on was the beginning, with the Land of Waves and Orochimaru's invasion, along with the later points of Gaara's abduction, Pain's invasion, the Five Kage Summit, and then some details of the Fourth War. There were large gaps in between where I knew that things happened, I just couldn't remember what. I figured, so long as I could focus on preventing what I did remember, and eliminating Zetsu as quickly as possible, I would probably be fine. That was where most of my planning was focused these days, in between my training and school.

Besides Obito though, I was drawing a blank. I didn't think Zetsu would have bothered, none of the rest of the Akatsuki had anything to do with Danzou, and so all that left was Orochimaru in terms of villains from the manga. I wasn't really feeling that idea though, because if it had been him I was pretty sure he wouldn't have left any records behind. Or anyone alive for that matter. I immediately discarded Itachi and Shisui as well, because they'd been with us at the time it had happened. They were good, but I didn't think they were that good.

Well, there was always the use of shadow clones, but I was unsure whether either of them knew that jutsu. I resolved to ask them nonchalantly about it later. Or I could just pester Sasuke about it. That seemed like more fun.

* * *

A/N: Well, hey guys! So, I know, this one is a bit shorter than usual, but that's because you're looking at the first half of what was originally Chapter 6. I was editing it and found that I disliked the pacing of it, so I decided to cut it in half. That half will be posted next week, as Chapter 7.

Remember, if you liked the chapter, definitely leave a review! If you liked it, awesome, tell me what you liked! If you didn't, still definitely let me know why, because I can always find ways to improve my writing with good feedback.

As always, thanks so much for reading, everyone, and I hope you guys have a great day!


	9. Academy Arc: The Clock is Ticking

A/N: I would like to start off by apologizing for the lack of any updates this past month, but especially for going totally silent and not giving a reason why. This past month, RL has been kind of kicking my butt, and I genuinely had no time for writing, let alone rewriting an entire chapter from the ground up. It sucks, I know, so I want to thank those of you guys who stuck with me through the unplanned hiatus anyways. It really means a lot, and I swear that should something like this happen again, I'll post an update on my profile with a reason why. Should I go all radio silent again, that would be the place for you guys to check why.

To all of the reviewers, both guests and signed in accounts, I want to thank you for taking the time to write a review. I haven't had the chance to respond to them, but they really are meaningful. I love hearing everyone's feedback, what they're enjoying and what they want to see more of, and it kept me motivated while I was going through midterm hell. So, this chapter is dedicated to you guys. It is the second longest one thus far, and covers quite a bit.

As a warning, blood does feature. I don't know how much that will bother anyone, and I don't think it's horribly graphic, but we'll see how people take it?

As always, Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. Enjoy the chapter everyone!

* * *

Chapter 7-Academy Arc: The Clock is ticking

"Unfortunately, the clock is ticking, the hours are going by. The past increases, the future recedes. Possibilities decreasing, regrets mounting."- Haruki Murakami

* * *

"Ow! Ow! OW!"

"Naruto, if you would just stop fidgeting-"

"But it hurts…" Naruto's whine drifted through the curtains blocking off the changing rooms in the back, and I let out a tired sigh and continued to swing my legs back and forth. I was sitting on the counter of the tailor's shop, quietly listening to Naruto slowly being folded and pinned into a set of formal robes. From the sound of things, it wasn't going so well for him, and I could understand his pain. The last time I'd been measured for a formal kimono, I'd been forced to hold still for hours as they pinned and adjusted things around me.

Both of us would much rather be training, which is what we'd been doing with Dad before Mama had arrived home, Mikoto in tow, and dragged us off shopping. I had just needed some more writing supplies, because I went through notebooks very quickly, but Naruto had needed a set of formal wear. The Konoha Summer Festival was happening in a week, and since he was technically a part of the Hokage's family now, he'd need to attend the formal opening ceremonies. The actual, fun festival portion wouldn't be till the evening, and till then he and I would need to suffer through the stuffy, formal ceremony with the clan council and their families.

"OW!" Naruto yelped again, and I glanced over at the curtain with a frown. Naruto was fidgety by nature, but we hadn't even been in the store for an hour. The old lady who ran the tailor's shop, a former kunoichi by the depth of her chakra stores, had offered us sweets when we walked in though. I'd met Hayata-san before, so the sweets were no surprise to me, but I guess they explained why Naruto's chakra was swirling more energetically than usual. Mama and Mikoto didn't usually let him have too many sweets, something about prior experiences teaching them otherwise, so he might have gone a bit overboard when presented with sugar this time. The sweets bowl had been suspiciously depleted by the time they walked into the back to adjust the clothes he'd picked out.

It was looking like we were going to be here awhile at this rate, so I rummaged around in my backpack till I found one of my books on biochemistry. It looked like I'd only packed textbooks from Nanami-sensei for school earlier today, so I popped it open with a resigned sigh and got to work. I didn't know when exactly I'd turned into the type of person who spent their free time constantly studying, but I supposed that I should have expected it. Doing well in life, whether as a shinobi or anything else, required a lot of hard work and dedication. I wouldn't stand a chance against people like Zetsu and Orochimaru if I wasn't in top shape, both mentally and physically, and that required effort.

I was kind of glad that going up against Danzou was no longer on the table, though his death still stumped me. I genuinely had no idea who would have wanted to take him out so early in the timeline, and pestering Sasuke had revealed that neither Itachi nor Shisui knew the Kage Bunshin jutsu. I'd been a little disappointed to have my suspect list narrowed to people I had no chance of investigating, because if I was anything it was curious. I didn't like not knowing things, which was probably a bad trait for a shinobi. Our villages never gave us all the information, obscuring, and hiding things until only the information they wanted revealed was handed out, and even then, only in small portions and to specific people.

I had to admit that, while I was growing more accustomed to the shinobi system and this world, I was aiming for jounin in part because it meant I would have more access to information. Knowledge was power, regardless of what universe you were in, and while being the Hokage's granddaughter meant that I was privileged to have access to more information than others, it still wasn't everything. Even as a Jounin, there would still be things I wouldn't be told, but I'd definitely have more access to things. Coming from a world where most information had been available at the click of a button, to this, had been difficult, and still could be, but I was starting to find my place here.

I was eventually forced to pull out one of my new notebooks and start taking notes on what I was reading. An hour passed like this, my concentration occasionally interrupted by more yelps and whining from the back, but finally I felt Naruto's sunshine signature come storming for the front of the shop. I blinked up at him blearily as he came tearing through the curtain, not pausing as he ran out the door and took off down the street.

"Did you tell him we were having ramen for dinner or something?" I asked, confused, and looked over at Mama and Mikoto, who'd emerged from the back room as well. The tailor's chakra was puttering about the changing rooms, so I assumed she was still working on things but had taken pity on Naruto and let him leave.

"No, he just didn't like the idea of buying any more clothes," Mama replied, an amused smile on her face as she made her way over to me.

"Honestly, he's worse than Kushina was at that age," Mikoto muttered, shaking her head with a fond smile on her face.

"Are we surprised?" Mama asked, laughing, and she and Mikoto exchanged briefly sad smiles. I was left watching them and wondering if I should ask who Kushina was. I knew, obviously, but pretending to fish for information about Naruto's parents was always interesting. Depending on who I was talking to, the parents' reactions could vary from hilarious to terrifying. The terrifying reaction belonged to Grandpa, the one time I'd worked up the courage to ask him about Naruto's resemblance to the picture of the Yondaime in the Hokage's office, and I'd immediately learned never to ask him again.

"Should we be letting him wander the village on his own?" I finally interrupted, trying to shift my thoughts from the terrifyingly cold look on Grandpa's face back then, and Mama gave me a bright smile in response.

"He's not wandering, Yume-chan. He's just going for a run to work off some of that energy." I gave her the most deadpan look I could manage in response, and she laughed and leaned over to give me a kiss on the top of my head.

"Come on, Yumeko-chan, let's go see if we can't find some strawberries for dessert today. You're all coming to our compound for dinner," Mikoto said, and I immediately packed up at top speeds and hopped off the counter. Mama and Mikoto giggled at my reaction, but I wouldn't be ashamed with my fruit obsession. Strawberries were the best, and I would fight anyone who tried to say otherwise.

We made our way out into the village and to the open-air market in the eastern district, and I happily bought two giant bushels of strawberries from one of the Akimichi owned stands. The Akimichi clan had their hands all over the food business in Konoha, whether that was stocking fresh fruits, vegetables, meats and so on in their stands in the market, or holding a monopoly over the restaurants in the village. If it was Akimichi owned, you knew the quality was good. Of course, I had to check, just in case, and managed to make my way through a quarter of one of the bushels before Mama caught me and took them away. I pouted the whole rest of the trip.

We did eventually find Naruto by Ichiraku Ramen, happily chattering away at Teuchi as he consumed his umpteenth bowl of ramen. Mikoto wrangled him away from the ramen and into carrying some of our grocery bags, Teuchi waving goodbye as we trooped off to the Uchiha compound. The foot traffic was starting to die down as the sun began to set overhead, more people finding their way home or finding themselves visiting the various restaurants and bars scattered throughout the village. We passed by Kurenai and Anko heading off to one of said bars, and we stopped to talk to them for a bit.

"Congratulations on the promotion, Kurenai-chan," Mama said, and Kurenai beamed at her in response. She was dressed in a loose, white sundress today, paired with simple sandals and a sparkly red purse clutched in her grip. She was wearing make-up, dark shadow around her eyes and red on her lips, matching with Anko. Anko, though, was wearing a slinky black dress that clung to her body, emphasizing her curves, and I could spy a couple of weapons concealed along its length. She was nothing if not prepared, and if they were heading to a shinobi bar and Anko acted like Anko, she'd be needing them. The tales of some of her bar fights were legendary.

"Thank you, Madoka-san. I was very happy when I heard you put in a good word for me with the examiners," Kurenai said, and Mama smirked.

"You're practically family, so it's not a problem. By the time Asuma gets back you'll be a jounin, and then I can make fun of him for being a lower rank than his girlfriend." Kurenai flushed red at that and frantically began denying it, but I immediately tuned it out. I'd heard Asuma and Kurenai make the same excuses for so many years now that they barely even registered anymore. Naruto and I exchanged long-suffering looks, and then an idea crossed my mind.

"Race?" I whispered, and he immediately brightened. Yeah, he still had way too much energy from all that sugar. The ramen binge probably hadn't helped.

"What about the groceries?" He asked, and I shrugged.

"We'll be careful," I replied, and noticed Anko watching us in amusement.

"Here, brats," She said, and reached into the front of her dress to pull out a seal tag. Naruto watched her with a faintly freaked out look on his face, and I could tell that she was pleased she'd managed to unsettle him so quickly. She gave me the paper, and I realized after a quick scan that it was a simple, empty storage seal. I looked at her questioningly as Mikoto and Mama turned their attention to soothing an increasingly embarrassed Kurenai.

"You never know what you might need," She said, winking at me, and I giggled quietly. I set the tag on the ground and carefully placed my bags of groceries over it. Naruto looked wary, but set his bags down too, and then Anko crouched down and flared her chakra, sending it into the tag. There was a poof of smoke and then all that was left was the storage tag, and Naruto and I exchanged grins.

"Last one there has to help cook dinner!" I shouted, and scooping up the tag I took off running down the street. Naruto yelped in indignation and booked it after me, but I heard him laughing happily all the way to the Uchiha compound.

I got to the Uchiha Main House before Naruto, but it was a close call. I'd nearly tripped over at least five cats on my way in, and had noticed several more watching me as I made my way through the compound. It was unnerving, to put it lightly. The cats had been following me around for years now, and I genuinely didn't know why. It was always the Uchiha compound cats, which is why I tended to stick close to other people when we came to the compound. The cats were less likely to make an appearance if I had other people nearby.

"No fair, Yume-chan!" Naruto whined, collapsing on the porch with a giant grin. I flipped a pigtail over my shoulder and smirked at him, and he let out another laugh. The front door opened at that, and Sasuke peeked his head out. He smiled widely when he saw us there, and immediately flopped out on the front porch beside Naruto.

"Mother said you were going out clothes shopping, so I didn't think you'd be back so soon," Sasuke said. Naruto shuddered at the mention of the word clothes, and I rolled my eyes. It hadn't taken anywhere near as long as it could have!

"Naruto and I raced back. I won, so now he has to help with dinner," I replied, and Naruto immediately pouted.

"But what if I don't want to? Big bro Itachi promised to show us some cool shuriken tricks the next time I saw him!" He said, and I hesitated, reaching out with my chakra sense to see if I could find Itachi's signature. His warm bonfire and Shisui's sparkling fireworks were located at the back of the house, while Dad's and Fugaku's signatures were cloistered on the second floor of the house. It seemed like they were in Fugaku's office, and while Dad's signature seemed sad, Fugaku's was as angry as I'd ever felt it. I wondered what that was about?

"Big brother is home, but he and Shisui have been working on something most of the afternoon," Sasuke said, looking irritated, and drawing my focus back to the two in front of me. I raised an eyebrow at that, and he huffed and turned to glare back into the house. "They were doing something with summons contracts, but I had to finish homework, so I didn't stay to watch them."

"Homework?" Naruto asked, and Sasuke gave him an unimpressed look.

"If I didn't know better, I'd swear you never went to class," Sasuke huffed, and I snickered quietly. Naruto turned an offended look to me, and I held up my hands, palms out, in a gesture of peace.

"We have an essay on one of the policies that the Nidaime established during his time as Hokage due tomorrow. I finished it the night we got it assigned, because essays are dumb," I said, and Naruto's face immediately relaxed.

"Oh, that essay! I already handed mine into Iruka-sensei," Naruto said, puffing up proudly. "I wrote about his creation of the different specialist sections for the Shinobi Corps, like the Tactics division, T&I, the Tracking Corps, and so on."

"It was only supposed to be three pages," Sasuke deadpanned, and Naruto immediately began ranting about how ' _Three pages isn't enough for the Nidaime, dattebayo!_ ', and I couldn't help but start laughing. Naruto's obsession with the Hokages remained strong, regardless of any interferences I'd made in his life. It was good to know that no matter what, some things would never change.

That was about the point when Mama and Mikoto showed up, looking amused to find Sasuke putting a ranting Naruto in a headlock, while I sat and laughed at them on the porch. They hurried us inside, unsealing the groceries from Anko's borrowed tag as we went along, and set Naruto and I to helping prepare dinner. I pouted about it, because I'd won the race and therefore should have been exempt, but Sasuke ended up having to wrangle Shisui, so I guess it was a fair trade.

* * *

The next week passed in a blur of training, school, and village-wide preparations, but finally, the day of the Konoha Summer Festival arrived. It was considered a village holiday, meaning no school, but rather than having the chance to relax, Naruto and I were currently undergoing hell in the form of dressing for the opening ceremonies.

"Mama!" I whined, wincing as she tugged at my hair with a brush to untangle it, and she clucked her tongue at me in amusement.

"If you cut your hair more often, Yume-chan, this wouldn't be such a problem," She said, but her touch gentled as she continued to work on my unruly, sleep-mussed hair. I liked it long, though, and even if it might prove a problem in the years to come, I wasn't willing to cut it shorter. I could always braid it or tie it back.

"Madoka-san, how long do we have to wear these again?" Naruto asked, pouting as he tugged at the sleeve of his robes. They were navy blue, for the outer kimono and his matching hakama, but his outer haori was white with a large Uzumaki spiral on the back, and his inner kimono was a light grey. Naruto, being Naruto, had wanted something orange, so the edging of the haori's sleeves and the bottom was lined with thin orange waves. He had a lighter jacket for the actual festival portion tonight, but knowing him, he probably wasn't going to wear that unless someone forced it on him.

"All day, Naruto," Mama replied, having finished brushing out my hair and now setting herself to the task of braiding it. She was setting two braids onto each side of my head, pulling my hair out of my face, and lacing them together into a longer tail that would hang down my back.

Naruto and I exchanged long-suffering looks at that, and Mama lightly tugged on my hair in reprimand. I pouted, and looked over at Ko-chan, who was taking a nap in a pile of our assorted clothes. The sun hadn't even risen when we'd all woken up to start preparations, and my brother was still young enough to not like the idea of waking up without the sun present.

"Why do we have to do this, again?" I whined, and Naruto nodded enthusiastically.

"The Hokage's family always needs to be present for the Opening Ceremonies, Yume-chan. You've been doing it for years, why the sudden reluctance?" Mama asked, and I shrugged. Honestly, I just wanted to take a nap today. I'd been dumb and stayed up late reading medical ninjutsu scrolls last night, so I was feeling cranky. I didn't want to put up with all of the posturing and nonsense that surrounded the clans of Konoha without sleep backing me up.

"Fugaku-sama and Hiashi-sama are gonna be so annoying, though," I sighed, and Mama snickered quietly. The Uchiha and Hyuuga clan heads were in the middle of some random fight again, not that I knew why. Fugaku had picked a fight with Hiashi the day after we'd had dinner at his compound, and the two had been insufferable since. Dad had prevented Hizashi from interfering for once, which had been odd. I hadn't heard much of their conversation, but the gist of what I'd gotten had been that Fugaku needed to work off some steam. Had whatever Dad had told him that night been so bad?

I didn't like not being in the know, but there was nothing I could do about it now. Besides, Uchiha Clan business was their problem, not mine. Unless it seemed like they were heading back towards a negative view of the village, or like the village was turning against them again, I wasn't going to interfere. I had enough problems dealing with Hyuuga drama, I couldn't take the time to manage anything else right now.

"I'm certain Mikoto and Hikari will reign them in for you," Mama said, pressing a quick kiss to the top of my head. I grumbled, crossing my arms over my chest, but nodded.

It didn't take much longer for us to finish getting ready. Mama put a still sleepy Ko-chan into his robes, which were a match for Naruto's except they were in green and brown, and with our clan's symbol on the back of his haori. I was wearing my kimono from last year, which was a summer green decorated with blue irises, and with pink edging along the sleeves and hem. Mama and Dad pulled on their own clothes, Dad matching with Konohamaru and Mama wearing a pretty burnt orange kimono with sky blue edging and white cherry blossoms dancing across it, and we trooped out of the house towards the Hyuuga compound.

The sun had finally risen by the time we got to the streets of Konoha, but not many people were about yet. The majority of the opening ceremonies were solely for shinobi and the clans, and then the rest of the village took part in the much shorter ceremonies right before the opening of the festival. We passed a couple of shinobi making their way across the rooftop highway, and while Mama and Dad greeted them as they passed, I was busy carrying Ko-chan and attempting to keep Naruto from running off.

"Naruto, can we switch?" I asked him, shifting Konohamaru on my hip and trying to get a better grip. My little brother was asleep again, and his head was tucked into the curve of my neck as he dreamed away. He was adorable, but he was also heavy for a three-year-old. It wasn't bothering me too much, since I trained with heavier weights than him, but that didn't mean I wanted to carry him the whole time. Naruto immediately darted back to help me, though, and we traded off carrying him the rest of the way.

The sight of a glowering Fugaku and Hiashi right outside the Hyuuga compound gates greeted us as we turned the last corner, and I let out a groan. Hiashi was holding a sleeping Hanabi, which explained why the only thing the two clan heads were doing was glaring. Dad coughed into his fist, hiding a laugh, and I immediately turned and hid behind him. I was not dealing with drama this early in the morning, no sir.

"Good morning, Sarutobis!" Mikoto called, dressed in a gorgeous lavender kimono, and she was waving and smiling at us from her position beside Kanae, who was busy fussing over a sulky Chi-chan. They were both dressed in matching indigo blue kimonos. Neji was standing beside his father on her other side, his formal mask in place, and it didn't crack at all as he glanced over at us. The sight made me sad, and I looked away rather than meet his eyes.

Naruto, Konohamaru in tow, had already bounced over to Sasuke, who was standing beside Itachi and Shisui. They were speaking in hushed voices, and there was a large, fluffy blue cat clutched in Shisui's arms. The cat's glowing, amber eyes immediately settled on me, and I shifted further behind Dad to hide from it. I silently despaired. ' _Am I never going to be free of these cats?!_ '

"Good morning, Mikoto, Kanae. No Hikari yet?" Mama asked, gliding forward to briefly hug the Uchiha matriarch and place a soothing hand on Kanae's shoulder. Dad scooped me up and settled me on one of his shoulders, and I giggled as we walked over to join the others.

"No, Hiashi-san said that Hikari wasn't feeling her best, and so she wouldn't be joining us. We've been waiting about twenty minutes for Hinata-chan now." I frowned at this, closing me eyes and stretching out my senses. I couldn't sense into the depths of the compound, where the Main House was located, so the lack of Hinata's chakra signature within my range meant she had to be somewhere in that area.

"I can go get her!" I piped up, smiling and poking Dad's cheek till he set me down with an amused huff.

"That's truly not necessary, Yumeko-chan. I'm sure she'll be along soon," Kanae said, smiling at me wearily, but I could feel the flare of concern in her chakra.

"I don't mind! I can't sense her coming this way, anyway, so I'll go and find her!" I said brightly, and took off past the now quietly bickering Fugaku and Hiashi before anyone could stop me.

"Wait, sense her?" I heard Kanae saying in confusion from behind me, but I was already gone and attempting to run across the carefully manicured paths of the Hyuuga compound. I say attempt because I still hadn't mastered really moving in a kimono. I almost never wore them, though, so I couldn't really be blamed for this oversight.

When Hinata's signature finally came into range, it seemed as still as I'd ever felt it. I frowned, and tried to increase my pace. I couldn't sense her emotions, not from this range, but the absolute static feeling of her chakra had me worried. Chakra was always moving, always flowing, and I'd never come across a signature with static chakra before. I couldn't even sense Hikari at all, not till I was almost right outside the house, and even then, all I could feel was the barest flicker of life.

My heart pounding, fear coiling in my gut, I shoved the front door open and booked it for the spot within the house where I could feel Hinata and Hikari's signatures. As I got closer, I could tell why Hinata's chakra had felt static to me. It was utterly frozen in panic, fear and grief, and as I shoved open the sliding door to the room they were in, I could see why.

There, slumped against the bed, like she'd been trying to get up and had failed, was Hikari. She was deathly pale and utterly still, and I could immediately tell why. The sharp, coppery tang of blood filled the room, and across the floor and coating the formerly crisp, white sheets of the bed was bright, crimson blood. Hikari's blood. There was a lot of it, and crouched beside her mother, Hinata's kimono skirts were practically soaked with it. Silent tears were pouring down the Hyuuga heiress' face, and she hadn't reacted to my entrance into their room. Her eyes remained locked on her mother, who had a soft smile frozen on her face.

"SPARROW!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, and burst forward. I didn't know how I could help, not really. I hadn't studied enough medical ninjutsu to actually be able to summon up any techniques that would make a difference here, but I did know first aid. Ignoring the blood that I was most definitely stepping in, I leaned around Hinata and felt for a pulse along Hikari's neck. For a moment, there was nothing, and I felt the fear beginning to rise and start to choke me. ' _No, no, no, no!_ '

Then…a slight flicker of a pulse against my fingers, and I almost slumped in relief. I let out another shout for Sparrow, and that seemed to startle Hinata enough that she finally registered my presence in the room. She watched me, eyes wide, as I carefully began to search Hikari for some manner of wound that might be causing the bleeding, making sure not to jostle the unconscious woman. I didn't want to make anything worse. There were no obvious signs of damage to her white sleeping yukata, however, and I despaired for a moment as my searching became more frantic.

"Yumeko-chan, what…Damn it!" Sparrow's voice snapped from behind us, and I was suddenly being yanked into a pair of strong arms alongside Hinata as Sparrow darted forward. She crouched beside the unconscious Hyuuga matriarch as Hinata's crying devolved into sobbing, and I watched in frozen fascination as Sparrow's hands lit up blue.

"Captain, I need back-up," Sparrow said, her tone, for once, betraying her anxiety. This was bad. Sparrow had never once betrayed even a hint of her emotions while she was working as an ANBU, not as long as I'd known her. She barely did it when she was just Nanami-sensei!

"I'll go after Mouse," Bear rumbled, and then the next thing I knew we were back outside of the house, and two more Shunshins placed us among the adults, who immediately freaked out at the state of us. Hinata was covered in way more blood than I was, and that resulted in most everyone placing their attention on her. She was still sobbing wordlessly, and as Bear disappeared, no doubt in search of another medic, I was left feeling numb.

I'd been utterly useless, and while calling for Sparrow might have helped, I didn't know if it would be enough. I should have remembered that Hinata's mom was supposed to die at some point before canon started, but I hadn't. There were a lot of downsides to not bothering to note down everything I'd once remembered, I was starting to realize. All the same, I should have been more careful, should have paid more attention to the fact that Hikari hadn't been feeling well in years. Maybe then…I don't know, maybe then I could have done something more.

"Yume-chan! Yumeko, what happened!" Mama was saying, crouched in front of me and looking worried, with Dad hovering over her shoulder and clutching a nervous Konohamaru.

"Hikari-sama was bleeding," I started, and the others immediately switched their gazes to me. "There was…there was so much blood," I whispered, and then Hiashi was off like a shot, running back into the compound, with Hizashi on his heels. Kanae, who'd had a shocked Hanabi unceremoniously shoved into her arms, hesitated, glancing around at the rest of us. Neji was busy trying to comfort Hinata, his mask momentarily broken in the face of his distraught, blood-soaked cousin, but Mikoto stepped forward and took Hanabi from Kanae.

"Go after them. I'm sure that someone is going to need to corral Hiashi so they can treat Hikari," Mikoto said, and while her tone was even, I could feel the tremble in her chakra that spoke of her concern and fear. Kanae nodded wordlessly and then turned and ran into the compound after her husband and brother-in-law. Chizuru stared after her family, her eyes wide and her face pale, before Shisui set down his cat and scooped her up. She wrapped her arms around his neck, tightly, and buried her face in his shoulder.

"What should we do?" Naruto asked quietly from beside a frozen Sasuke, looking bewildered by the sudden turn of events, and Itachi placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I imagine that they will be taking Hikari-sama to the hospital. We should meet them there, right, Father?" Itachi asked, glancing over at Fugaku, who nodded tightly.

"Shisui, send your summons with a message to the Hokage. Let him know what happened, and that we'll be late," Fugaku said, stepping over and gently extracting a crying Chizuru from his arms. Shisui nodded, and immediately crouched down and began whispering to the blue ball of fluff. It nodded, and disappeared between one blink and the next, leaving us standing in the street in front of the Hyuuga compound.

It was a solemn group of us that ended up in the hospital waiting area, with a still crying Hanabi, Hinata and Chizuru among us. Fugaku was still trying to soothe Chi-chan, and mostly succeeding with the aid of another cat, this one pink and fluffy, that Shisui had summoned as we waited. Shisui and Itachi were currently fielding messages from a veritable platoon of cats and crows, who appeared to be carrying word of what was happening to various affected parties. Mikoto was holding a silent Hanabi and wordlessly staring at the door leading to the rest of the hospital, while Mama and Dad had a now clean Hinata sitting between them. The hospital nurses had taken one look at the girl and immediately returned with child-sized scrubs, leading her off with Mama in tow to clean her up.

Hikari and the ANBU medics, along with Hiashi, Hizashi and Kanae, had beaten us to the hospital. They were in the waiting area outside the surgery units, while the rest of us, since we weren't close family save the children, waited in the main hospital area. The place was empty save for two nurses who manned the desk and watched us with pitying eyes.

I was curled up beside Neji on some of the chairs, having kicked off my blood-covered sandals the instant I'd had the chance. He had an arm wrapped around my shoulders, but was staring blankly into the distance. Naruto was on my other side, still holding Konohamaru, and Sasuke was beside him, but none of them seemed to know quite what to say or do. None of us did, really.

About an hour later, the Aburames showed up. Some part of me noted that we were supposed to have met them at the ceremony, but since there was a sleek, grey cat leading them into the hospital, they must have been one of the groups Shisui and Itachi contacted first. Shino immediately moved over and sat on Neji's other side, leaning into him, and Neji let out a tired huff in response before shifting so I could blindly grab Shino's hand. He squeezed back, showing his silent and unwavering support. Shibi walked over to Dad and they began speaking in hushed voices as Shizuko crouched down between Madoka and Mikoto and tried to coax the attention of both Hanabi and Hinata with some of her kikaichu butterflies.

Another hour later, and the rest of the clan heads of Konoha arrived in the hospital, being led by an orange cat the size of Kuromaru. Yoshino, Fumiko and Momo, Chouji's mother, were leading the charge, carrying varying baskets of food, and they immediately set to making sure those of us who had been waiting the longest were taken care of. Shikaku moved over to help Fugaku with Chizuru, who had mostly calmed down at this point, aided by Chouza, as Inoichi went over to talk to a now standing Shibi and Dad. Ino, despite that fact that they weren't speaking, moved over to Hinata and wrapped her in a tight hug before sitting beside her. Chouji and Shikamaru settled down in front of Naruto and Sasuke, and Kiba sauntered over and settled himself beside Shino. Tsume, Hana and the dogs all moved over to assist Shisui and Itachi, who were still fielding messages, occasionally directing their summons over to Dad and Shibi.

I hid my face in Neji's shoulder and struggled not to start crying myself. Why had it taken a possible tragedy to force us all back together? He hugged me a little tighter, but neither of us said anything.

Eventually, Grandpa and the Elders showed up, and with some kind of legendary timing I didn't understand, Hizashi and one of the doctors came through the doors just as they were arriving. There was tense silence as we all turned our attention to them, but the wan smile on Hizashi's face and the hopeful tint to his chakra had me starting to relax.

"She'll make it," The doctor began, an old man with salt and pepper hair and a grumpy voice. He was dressed in blue scrubs and had his hands shoved into the pockets of his lab coat. "She's not taking any visitors right now, though. Too much blood loss. We don't want to introduce anything to her system while she's this weak, so she's in Isolation. You can all see her in a couple of days."

"My brother will be staying a few hours more, to make sure Hikari is settled, and Kanae is assisting him. We can all go home, though," Hizashi said. Hanabi blinked up at him blearily, like she couldn't quite believe what he was saying, and Tsume let out a hoarse laugh.

"Should've known she'd be fine. Hi-chan was always tough," She said, and there were looks of relief and happiness exchanged among the others in the group.

"Can we go home now? Please?" Konohamaru asked, and Mama smiled at him.

"Everyone can come and stay at our compound. We can have dinner there," She said, and Mikoto smirked.

"I'll send the boys for more ingredients. Kami-sama knows we'll need it." Dad protested loudly at this, something about not calling him out on stress eating, and there was quiet laughter in response.

"Come on, Neji, Shino. Let's go," I whispered, and they nodded before both letting me go and getting to their feet. I stood and immediately stepped between them, taking their hands, and we followed along after the rest of the crowd as we left the hospital.

* * *

Another year after that and Hikari was in a much better state. She was still weak, and I understood that she probably always would be, but she was in no immediate danger of losing her life. Despite the camaraderie and unity displayed after her hospital stay, the cause of the lingering tensions among our once united group of friends hadn't dissipated. Ino had tried to be nice while Hikari was still recovering, but we'd eventually all drifted apart for the same reasons we had originally.

Sometimes, though, I almost couldn't blame her. Neji had been getting worse in his behaviour over the last year, and during the time when Hinata had been recovering from the trauma of discovering her mother dying, Neji had suffered worse treatment at the hands of the Main House Elders. He wouldn't tell me about what was happening, but he was constantly tired when I saw him, and he'd started developing bad headaches. However, despite all that, it was one of the days where he refused to sit with us at lunch to go and brood that I finally snapped.

"That is it!" I snarled, leaping to my feet and attempting to tackle the retreating Hyuuga. He dodged, his extra year of experience enabling him to guess where I would have been coming from. I turned my forward momentum into a roll and popped to my feet before whirling to glare at him. He was looking surprised, so I took that moment of weakness and grabbed his arm, proceeding to bodily drag him after me towards the corner of the grounds where the other half of our former group sat. He let me, seemingly not caring enough to fight me off.

"I am calling a group meeting, immediately!" I shouted over my shoulder, and the others exchanged looks but packed up their lunches and moved over to join us. "Shikamaru, Kiba, make room," I said, and they did, looking intimidated. I was using Mama's dangerous smile, honed after years of watching her use it on those who had displeased her, so they should have been.

Ino had a cool look on her face, and Sakura was struggling to copy it and mostly succeeding. However, her eyes, filled with concern and suspicion, gave her away. Chouji had stopped eating and was watching us, his face inscrutable, but he didn't make a move to say or do anything. I was sensing surprise and suspicion in all their chakra signatures, though. Curiosity in Shikamaru, which was a good sign. He'd be more willing to listen.

"Sit. In the center," I directed Neji, letting him go, and he hesitated for a moment. One look at my face had him moving to sit down though, and I heard the first mutterings of 'fate' from him and had to struggle to calm down. ' _Punching him will do absolutely nothing, especially because I probably won't be able to hit him._ '

Shino sat down beside Kiba, Sasuke beside Shikamaru, and Hinata and Naruto squeezed themselves between the two. Sighing tiredly, letting the anger go so that I could focus on what exactly I wanted to say, I moved into the center and stood in front of Neji. I wanted them to be paying attention now, and the best way was to make myself stand out. If I sat at their level, they'd treat this the same way they'd treated all my other attempts to mend fences. I was going to need to be the leader this time.

"You want to know why the Hyuuga drama started?" I asked, turning to Ino, and she looked startled.

"Yumeko?" Neji said, sounding confused, and I rubbed at my face for a moment, trying to buy time to think. There was really only so much I could say, and only so much I could lie about before things started catching up with me. ' _Yup, great plan, just marching over here. Now what, Izumi? What would you do?_ '

"I've known for years. About the seals, about everything," I finally said, and he and Hinata immediately went still. It would be best to go with the truth, for now, and try to evade any questions about how I knew anything about this.

"What?" Neji choked out, and he started to rise to his feet. I held out a hand to stop him, and lifted my gaze to meet his.

"You feel like what happened to your sister was fated, right? Because you couldn't protect her from what happened to you and the rest of your family that it must have been because it was meant to happen all along? That everyone has their place in this 'tapestry of fate' and that to fight against our destinies is foolish, right?" I asked, and he nodded slowly. "That's fudging dumb, and you know it. It wasn't fate that did this to you, your family, and especially not to your sister. It was a bunch of ancient jerks who decided to treat half of your family like trash because they either didn't consider the consequences or didn't care."

"Wait, what?" Came Naruto's confused voice, and Sasuke immediately shushed him.

"Yumeko-chan…it is clan business," Hinata insisted, but I could hear the waver in her voice. I turned to face her, a frown on my face. There were cracks in her façade of clan heiress now, put there by her experience last year, and I was going to need to take advantage of those if this was going to work.

"It was clan business, until it started to destroy the bonds between the only group of people who could try and fix it." Shikamaru frowned at that, shifting his hands into his concentration seal.

"So, what you're saying is that…something happens to half of the Hyuuga clan, and because of it they get treated worse? And when it happened to Chizuru-chan, Neji-kun started in on his fate stuff because it was a coping mechanism?" He said, and I before I could respond Neji cut in.

"It is not a coping mechanism!" He burst out, leaping to his feet, and if people hadn't been paying attention to us before they were now.

"Nothing to see here!" I called out, waving, and smiling innocently, and there were some murmurs but eventually people went back to what they were doing. I could feel a couple of people keeping an eye on us though, especially the two chuunin on duty, so I grabbed Neji's arm and dragged him down so we were both sitting. I scooted back into the circle, Chouji moving over so that I was seated beside Ino, who had a look of concentration on her face.

"Neji, it's your method of trying to make sense of what happened. By definition, that's kind of a coping mechanism," I said gently, and he crossed his arms and refused to look at me. If the chuunin on duty were using any listening techniques, I would need to be careful about anything else that was said now.

"Nothing else makes sense. Chi-chan has never done anything to anyone. Why would they want to hurt her?" He asked, sounding, for once, like the scared and confused child he was, and it made my heart hurt.

"Who wants to hurt her?" Sakura asked quietly, and Neji looked up to meet her eyes before looking back down again.

"The Main Branch," I replied, equally quiet, when it looked like neither he nor Hinata was going to say anything. "The Elders more specifically, if I had to guess. They've never liked Neji or his family for as long as I've known them. The…thing that makes the Branch members get treated worse is because what they do to them lets them hurt them," I said, trying to explain it in a more roundabout way without mentioning the seal again, or going into further detail on it.

"That's…that's horrible," Ino said, Sakura nodding beside her, both looking sad. "Neji-kun, I'm so sorry." He fidgeted under their stare before glaring at the lot of us.

"I don't want pity," He snapped, and I glared back at him. ' _Stupid, prideful little…_ '

"It's not pity, you dummy! We all care about you, we love you, so when you get hurt it hurts us too!" He stilled at that, and Hinata scooted forward to wrap him in a hug. "I know that to try and understand what happens to the Branch House you tried to rationalize it away, but that's not going to do anything. The only way to move forward is for you to accept what happened, to take the regret and anger at how your family and Chi-chan are treated, and try to figure out a way to fix it. You guys are just symptoms of a greater issue in the Hyuuga clan, and if we only treat the symptoms than the bigger problem can continue to fester away." Kiba and Naruto looked confused, turning to mouth 'fester' at each other, before Shino sighed and quietly explained to them both.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered, but his hands hadn't moved from his seal. "Yumeko-chan, earlier you mentioned you thought we were the only group who could fix it. Why?"

"Because we're the future generation of clan heads, or we're related to them." I nodded to Sasuke and Kiba at that. "And on top of that, we've got the future Hokage. If there's any group posed to enact change, it's us," I continued, and Naruto immediately brightened. Acceptance among his friends and our families hadn't changed his dream. He still wanted the rest of the village to acknowledge him. "Besides, I haven't been forcing myself to learn all of this fuuinjutsu for fun. When Naruto-kun and I become masters of the art, I will officially offer my services to Hinata-chan, the future Hyuuga clan head, to fix one part of the problem."

"Me too! It's not OK for you guys to be treated differently for no good reason! You're all family, no matter what!" Naruto said, and Hinata smiled faintly at that. Neji was still refusing to look at any of us, so I scooted forward and ducked my head to meet his gaze.

"We're your friends, and I like to think of us as a family, even when we argue and don't talk to each other for a while," I said, smiling tiredly. His eyes met mine, and I could see the regret in him, but also the beginnings of a hopeful flicker in his chakra. I supposed I felt a bit guilty about hammering the family button, since I knew it was a weak spot for both Hyuugas after last year, but this needed to stick. "And because we're a family, that means no one gets left behind." ' _Thank you, movies from my first childhood._ '

"Hinata-hime, I'm sorry we didn't understand why you couldn't tell us. This is…really big," Ino said, and Hinata smiled sadly at her.

"It is OK. I believe that I was trying too hard to shoulder all of this on my own, because one day all of this will be mine to fix. It never occurred to me that there were others who would want to help, or other ways to try and fix the issue," She responded, and then looked to me. "Thank you for believing in us, Yumeko-chan."

"Like I said, no one gets left behind. Besides, sometimes you're all so backwards it feels like I'm going to have to drag you into the future kicking and screaming," I joked, and flopped backwards, staring up at the sky and giggling as Neji immediately began trying to refute me. Sasuke jumped in on my side, followed by Naruto, but Shikamaru apparently wanted to play Devil's advocate because he started assisting Neji in his argument. The others around me devolved into either giggle fits or, in the case of Kiba, were egging the argument on further. Good. We needed to stick together for the things to come, and a divided Rookie 12 would have helped no one. They were my friends, yes, and that was part of why I was trying so hard to get us to stay together, but I also logically understood that we all stood a much better chance of surviving past Zetsu, Madara and Tobi if we had close bonds.

We spent the rest of lunch hashing out more details of the plan, leaving out any further information we'd not already discussed and speaking as quietly as possible. Then, after school, we adjourned to my house to continue plotting. Itachi and Hana, who'd come to pick up the two separate groups, had seemed surprised that we were all getting along so well again, but had been more than willing to go off and inform the adults where exactly we were going. Mama had been surprised as well, but she'd just sent us off into the central garden and told us she'd have extra snacks ready soon.

"Naruto-kun, a lot of this plan hinges on you," Shikamaru finally said, sounding more serious than I was accustomed to. We'd been out by the koi pond for a couple of hours now, still plotting, and I'd felt the arriving signatures of the parents, but they'd left us alone. I was sure some of them were listening in, based on the patterns in their chakra which signified the activations of various techniques, but there was nothing I could do about it. Besides, perhaps hearing us talking about this issue would make them take some freaking responsibility and try to help us out. Not everything needed to be shoved onto my generation to fix.

"I know," Naruto replied, sounding solemn.

"I still don't see why I need to become the Head of the Hospital though," Sakura said from beside him, crossing her arms over her chest and frowning.

"Because none of the rest of us can do it, obviously," Kiba replied, rolling his eyes. "You've got the best control in class, Iruka-sensei always says so! And weren't you and Ino volunteering at the hospital for the last three months because some iryou-nin heard about it and tried to recruit you?" He added, and I looked over at her in surprise. This was the first I was hearing of that, and it was also a major difference from the original timeline. Was it maybe because she'd not had the chance to start fangirling over Sasuke?

"We need an overwhelming majority vote among the small council to allow the Hokage to interfere in another clan's business," Shikamaru added, explaining the issue again. "There are four councils, remember? There's the Elder council, who act as the Hokage's advisors, the small council, made up of the big Clan Heads, the Elder Council, and any other division heads, the clan council, made up of all the Clan Heads of clans both big and small, and finally the large council, which basically contains all the other councils and anyone else of importance in Konoha.

"The Hokage sits on all of those councils and has a certain amount of veto power over anything they don't want to pass, but the only way for them to interfere in certain aspects of clan politics is if they're given the power by a majority vote. That vote needs to be in either the clan council or the small council. If the Main House Elders try to prevent any of Hinata-hime's reforms, the only way for us to make sure they pass is if we give the Hokage the power to do so. We don't know as many people in the clan council, so if we stack our votes in the small council, it should work," He finished.

It was times like these where I appreciated how much of a secret genius Shikamaru was. He'd taken my half-formed ideas and managed to put together a cohesive plan that, once we were all in position, should work. We were still trying to put together a plan to deal with the fallout of the reforms, but for now things were going smoothly.

"I'm glad we're doing this for Neji and Hinata-hime, but it just feels so far away," Kiba said, laying back and stretching out on the grass.

"This plan could take decades of effort to work. Why? Because I do not believe Naruto-kun will be able to take the Hokage mantle faster than that," Shino joked, adjusting his glasses, and Naruto let out an offended yelp.

"He has a point, Naruto-kun. Sandaime-sama will likely pass his position to someone else before it gets to you," Hinata said, and there were frowns among our group at that. She was right, of course, but none of the rest of them knew that. ' _I don't want Grandpa to die, though. I need to start planning again. Sorry Izumi, I'll be more careful about it this time._ '

"I'm sure it'll be fine, Naruto-kun. We have faith in you," Ino said, Chouji and Sakura echoing her statement, and his chakra leapt in happiness. I flopped down beside him, letting myself soak up the radiance of his inner sun as my friends began to joke and laugh overhead. Whatever came, I was just glad to have them all around again. I'd missed this more than I was willing to admit.

"Big sis, that creepy guy is back!" Ko-chan yelped as he came pounding out of the house towards us, and I could hear the offended bellowing of Jiraiya from inside. I rolled my eyes and sat up as my brother threw himself at me, landing so he was sprawled over both my lap and Naruto's. Chi-chan and Hanabi-chan came following along after him, giggling madly, and threw themselves at their respective siblings.

"What did you three do to him?" Chouji asked, sounding entertained, and all three children looked up at him innocently. The question was answered when Jiraiya came out, dripping with blue ink from his head to his waist, and being trailed by a grinning Shisui.

"Nice one, Ko-chan," Naruto smirked, holding out his fist which my little brother proceeded to bump with his own.

"Stop corrupting him," I said, frowning, but Naruto grinned at me unrepentantly.

"You little brats are going to get it this time," Jiraiya threatened from overhead, and the three of them squealed and attempted to make their escape once more. Jiraiya was not kno9wn as one of the Sannin for nothing though, because he'd grabbed them all within moments and gently tossed them into the koi pond. The subsequent splash ended up spraying most of us, which resulted in offended cries from Ino, Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto, and laughter from the rest of us. The pond was maybe waist deep for the kids though, so they weren't in any danger.

"Shisui, shouldn't you be in the pond too? Since you procured the ink for the children?" Came Itachi's innocent voice, and I turned to see Shisui suddenly attempting to make his escape from a still enraged Jiraiya, Itachi and Hana standing off to the side and observing. Well, Itachi was observing, looking delighted. Hana was clutching her stomach and laughing, the Haimaru brothers prancing around them both.

"You guys really need to work on your escape tactics," I said, moving over to help fish my brother from the pond. He was grinning and making faces at the koi around him though, so I turned to help Neji get Chi-chan and Hanabi instead. Hanabi was looking a little disgruntled at her sodden state, but Chi-chan was grinning like a maniac.

"Do it again, old man! Again, again!" She shouted, rushing over to Jiraiya, who had managed to freeze Shisui in place with a scrap of paper attached to his forehead, and was grinning like he had an evil plan in mind. Her chorus was taken up by my brother, who ran out of the pond and proceeded to attempt to clamber on the Sannin, who was looking utterly confused by this turn of events. I sighed, and turned to fetch towels from the house. This looked like it was going to take a while.

"I see that you've managed to reunite your friends once again," Grandpa said, appearing from out of nowhere beside me, and I smiled up at him brightly.

"Oh, you know how it goes. Teamwork is key to solving problems you can't handle on your own. Even if it takes a little while for people to figure that out," I said, and he smiled at me in pleasure.

"Or someone to make them figure it out?" He asked, and I just smiled brighter in response. He laughed and moved to head out into the central garden, watching as Jiraiya finally relented and started throwing people into the pond again, a grinning Naruto among them. I paused to watch as well, and felt a warmth fill me at the sight of these people that I loved spending time together, carefree and laughing. People who might never have gotten to do this if I had just allowed original canon to play out. I was going to work my hardest to protect this peace, no matter what it took.

* * *

A/N (Continued): AND, that's a wrap on our Neji mini-arc. Who can say what the consequences may be for some of the things that happened in this chapter? Well, I can say, because I know them, but saying them would be spoilers for you guys!

I hope you guys liked the chapter, and that it was at least sort of worth the wait? I can say, the next chapter is our final Academy arc chapter, and then canon is coming in like a freight train! In response, we've got some new characters being introduced, and some old characters making reappearances! Can you guys guess who?

Remember, if you liked something, or even if you didn't, definitely leave a review. Constructive feedback can only help me improve, and some of the reviews for last chapter actually helped shape some of the interactions for this one! There were also some reviews over the course of the fic that have been coming a little close to guessing future developments for Yume and the story, so reading those is always a lot of fun.

As always, thanks so much for reading, and I hope you all have a wonderful day!

P.S. I might be posting a little something else, not Naruto related, hopefully soon? Look forward to it!


	10. Academy Arc: Final Summer Days

A/N: Welcome everyone, to our longest chapter to date! I really like this chapter, and it's the last one of the Academy arc. Meaning, canon will be hitting us next chapter, and I'm sure it's just going to be all uphill from there. Right? Right! (Between you guys and me, they have no idea what's about to hit them. :D)

So, this one's a series of scenes that occurs over their last year in the Academy, and it was a lot of fun for me to write. We've got reappearances and new characters, and I think its a good time. Remember, if you guys like the story, definitely leave a review! Let me know what I'm doing well, what you want to see more of, that sort of thing. Even if you don't like it, constructive criticism remains awesome and super helpful.

Without further ado, I'm gonna be quiet now, and you guys can enjoy the chapter!

Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, still.

* * *

Chapter 8-Academy Arc: Final Summer Days

"Summer will end soon enough, and childhood as well."- George R.R. Martin

* * *

"Neji, noooo. Don't leave me," I pleaded, clinging onto his arm and refusing to budge as he attempted to drag me through the front gates of the Academy and towards the amused crowd of parents waiting for us.

"Yumeko, let me go. Please. _You're embarrassing me_ ," He hissed, trying to shake me off.

"Good. Does that mean you'll repeat a year and stay?" I asked, smiling at him openly, and he groaned, the light reflecting off the metal of his newly received hitai-ate.

"Yume-chan, leave him be. Why? Because you've been trying for weeks and it still didn't prevent him from graduating on time," Shino piped up from beside us, and I pouted at him.

"I could have tried harder. If I'd involved Shisui-san, there was no way he would have passed," I replied, and there was a shudder from both my boys.

"Thank Kami-sama you didn't," Neji muttered, and finally managed to free himself from my grip. He lifted his arm in the light and stared at it reverently for a moment, and I rolled my eyes.

"I haven't been that clingy!" I protested, and there was a choking noise of disbelief from behind us. I whirled to glare at the offender to find all the rest of our friends looking away innocently, some whistling, others suddenly chattering amongst themselves. Naruto was looking a little too innocent though, and I squinted at him menacingly for a moment. He immediately began to pale, his eyes darting around, looking for an escape route.

"There's our new graduate! We're so proud of our little Neji-kun!" Speak of the devil. Shisui was suddenly in front of us, scooping Neji into a hug and swinging him around. Neji had gone limp as a defense mechanism, as was the only appropriate response when faced with a suddenly overly affectionate Uchiha Shisui. Struggling only made it worse.

"Shisui, put him down," Came Itachi's long suffering voice, and Shisui turned to grin at him, Neji still in his arms. They were both dressed in their jounin uniforms, having been gone on mission the past few days and only arrived to see the graduation ceremony today. Itachi was 16 now, tall, willowy and graceful, looking more so like his mother every day. His hair was in its customary ponytail, and he looked paler than when I'd last seen him. He'd been sick for the past few months, on all manner of different drugs and antibiotics, until someone had finally managed to diagnosis him with latent tuberculosis and he'd switched to treatment for that. It was lucky they'd finally caught it, because if it had been left to itself like I suspected it had in the manga, he would have died. They still sent him out on missions on his good days though, which worried Sasuke constantly.

Shisui was older, 20, but was about the same height as Itachi anyway. He also had his curly hair cut much shorter and an ever-present smile on his face. The man radiated almost as much cheer as Naruto, and had taken both him and my brother under his wing in regards to pranks. I was pretty sure he learned more from our resident Uzumaki than he taught, though. He currently had his tantou strapped to his back, and was covered in road dust, likely from the mad dash he and Itachi had probably made to get back to the village on time.

"Aww, come on Itachi-kun. You know little Neji-kun secretly loves it," He said, winking, and Sasuke let out a disgusted snort from behind us.

"If by love you mean hate, then yes," Sasuke replied, moving forward to kick his cousin in the shin. Shisui danced away, releasing a blue-faced Neji as he did so. Neji gasped for air, doubling over, and Shino and Chouji moved forward to prop him up.

"Troublesome. Where's Hana-san when you need her?" Shikamaru muttered.

"Ugh," Kiba grunted, repulsed. "You'll summon her too at this rate. I don't need to deal with more of their 'eternal romance' and clinging than I already get when she's home!" He shuddered at the thought, and Ino and Sakura laughed. Hana was also off on a mission, but she'd left two days ago, so it was unlikely she would have been back on time. As for her and Shisui, they'd had an on again-off again relationship for the past few months. If Kiba was reacting this way, it must be back on again.

"They're really cute though, Kiba-kun," Hinata piped up, smiling fondly as she watched Itachi and Shisui resume their usual shenanigans, which usually involved Shisui fleeing and Itachi throwing sharp objects to prevent this. The parents, tired of waiting for us and correctly assuming that the teenagers had thoroughly distracted us, had made their way over.

"Congratulations, big brother!" Chizuru cried, flinging herself at Neji and nearly knocking him over. He staggered back a step but managed to stay upright, and his sister smirked up at him mischievously. All the younger academy students had had the day off so that their instructors could be freed up to mark the written portion of the graduating classes' exams. We'd had the day off as well, but had elected to hang out at the Academy to wait for Neji. Chizuru, my brother, Hanabi and their new friends Moegi and Udon had been hanging out at our compound till the parents had finished party preparations and come to pick us up.

"Yes, congratulations nephew," Hiashi said, a slight, but proud, smile on his face, and Neji straightened up in response.

"Oh, my little boy's all grown up," Kanae sniffled, and Mikoto wrapped an arm around her shoulders in sympathy. It looked like only half of the parents had come by to pick us up, the other half having stayed at the compound to wait. Hizashi had moved over and placed his hand on Neji's shoulder, exchanging quiet words with him as he beamed down at his son. Chizuru had detached herself from her brother and gone running over to her mother as soon as her sniffling had started.

"Let's get going, dattebayo! I want to eat Madoka-san's cake!" Naruto shouted, taking off running out of the gate. I groaned and took off after him, flanked by Sasuke. He and I exchanged long-suffering looks, but I was happy. Naruto never changed, and I was glad I'd managed to help him find the family he'd missed in his childhood in the manga.

* * *

Neji had graduated at the beginning of March, meaning we were starting our sixth and final year at the Academy in April. With our final year came a lot of emphasis on the mastering of the Academy Three jutsu, as they would be used during the second half of the practical portion of the final exam. The other half would be a regulated taijutsu spar against one of our instructors. The first part of the exam was the written test though, which covered everything we'd ever learned in the Academy, and which was used as part of the determinant for who would move into the practical part of the exam. The last factor included was our rankings over the years, so even if you slipped up on test day, if you'd been highly placed over the years it wasn't as big of a deal.

"Naruto-kun! Stop staring off into space and pay attention!" Iruka-sensei barked, and I was startled out of my reverie in time to whip a hand out and catch the piece of chalk that had come hurtling for Naruto's head. There was a brief pause, and then Naruto started whooping and cheering beside me.

"Nice catch, Yume-chan! Take that, Iruka-sensei!" He cried, beginning to get out of his seat as if to begin one of Jiraiya's happy dances he'd started mimicking, but Sasuke reached over to flick him in the forehead before he could. He yelped in pain but settled back down, and I rolled my eyes in exasperation. Jiraiya had been a rather steady presence in Naruto's life since our introduction to him in our first year of the Academy, taking time out at least once a year to come by and check how our fuuinjutsu progress was going. To the rest of the world, it seemed like he was doing a favour for the Hokage and had taken on two new apprentices, but I knew that he was honestly enjoying the chance to see Naruto so often. The rumours were a good excuse for him to spend time with his godson, something that wouldn't have happened in the original canon for at least another year.

"Sorry, Iruka-sensei. Force of habit," I said sheepishly, and with precision that would have made Ebisu-sensei proud, I chucked the chalk into Iruka-sensei's waiting hand. I hadn't always been particularly great with my shurikenjutsu and bukijutsu, but I'd improved a lot over the years. I still preferred kunai and senbon over shuriken, mostly because I disliked the wrist flicking and concentration necessary to get shuriken to properly behave in the air.

"It's all right, Yumeko-kun. I'm used to it," He said, letting out a sigh before turning back to whatever he'd been writing on the board. I propped my chin in my hand while the other reached out to snatch the pencil Naruto had begun to balance on his nose in lieu of paying attention. He shot me his best puppy dog eyes, but I ignored them in favour of flicking the pencil over to Shino across the aisle.

He caught it easily before flipping it through his fingers at top speed and sending it flying back at me. I caught it overhead, flung it up in the air, caught it again, and sent it soaring back just as Iruka turned around once again. The pencil was nowhere in sight as he narrowed his eyes at our row in the back, and I gave him an innocent smile. It was partially defeated by Kiba and Naruto's snickering, and the glare we were getting from Sakura, but Iruka-sensei let it pass anyway.

What would he have said, really? I was the top student in the class, had been since we'd first started at the Academy, and was a shoe-in to win Kunoichi of the Year. I had also basically guaranteed my status as a prodigy for years to come when, two years ago, I'd managed to beat Mizuki in a spar. We'd had year end spars against our teachers every year before that, as a basic exam to contribute to our rankings, but I'd always drawn other random chuunin who'd gone easy on me because of my family. Mizuki hadn't been trying to make things easy, though, and when word had gotten out about our spar, Mama hadn't been happy. However, since I refused to acknowledge the Orochimaru-aligned traitor as a teacher of any kind, beating him using the skills Mama had started to teach me had been very satisfying.

Mama had taken over my taijutsu training from Ebisu-sensei after I'd finally mastered the Konoha Academy style. Recently, she'd also started integrating in some kenjutsu work as I began to practice with the tantou she'd given me as a gift for my 10th birthday. Nanami-sensei and I were still working on iryou-ninjutsu, and I was still being tutored in fuuinjutsu by her, Ebisu-sensei and Jiraiya whenever he was in town. Naruto was still way better at it than I was, although I had him beat in the calligraphy department. Dad and Grandpa had taken over my instruction in our clan's hiden ninjutsu, a mixture of the fire, wind, and earth affinities most people in the Sarutobi clan shared. I'd learned I had a dual primary affinity to fire and earth, so I was off to a good start for that. Although, I'd also started in with 'chakra coil expansion exercises' two years ago, which had been **very not fun**.

Grandpa and Dad had informed me that, as the clan heiress, once I was of age (i.e. I had hit genin rank) I would be given the opportunity to sign the clan's monkey summoning scroll. I was all for it, as summoning in battle and the potential to learn sage techniques would come in handy later down the line, but there was a caveat. Summoning took a lot, and I mean _a lot_ , of chakra to accomplish. I was better off than most when it came to chakra stores, but I was nowhere near the levels needed to summon anything bigger than a baby. Thus, chakra coil expansion, which mostly consisted of me exhausting my chakra stores most days to increase the size of my coils and allow my stores to develop. It was more dangerous the older you got, which was why I had started it two years ago, and was still doing it now instead of after I'd graduated. I was carefully supervised to make sure I didn't burn out, but it still made me feel like crap for hours after.

The lunch bell rang overhead and Iruka-sensei and Mizuki hurried us outside before they both disappeared into the bowels of the building, most likely off to the teacher's lounge. Naruto led us over to our usual spot by the trees in the eastern corner of the grounds, and we settled into our usual circle formation. It still felt weird not having Neji around, but the look of pure terror on his face when he'd discovered who his jounin instructor was made it much easier to bear.

"You guys should really pay more attention in class, you know," Sakura said, cutting into my thoughts as she carefully set out her humongous tome on anatomy and proceeded to flip to the page she'd left off at last. Sakura was set to enter the hospital's iryou-nin residency program next year, having apprenticed herself to one of the doctors there. Nanami-sensei had helped set her up with a doctor who'd retired from ANBU several years prior, so she was in good hands. Before that though, she had a lot of studying to do to pass the entrance exam, even though we all knew there was no way she'd fail. I was more than happy that I'd passed the point of having to study intensely to get into a medical training program, since I wasn't planning to enter the Iryou-nin Corps myself. Once had been more than enough for me.

"But I don't wanna learn any more about chakra theory," Naruto whined, flinging himself dramatically across Sakura's lap. She'd yanked her food out of the way in time, used to his antics, but she still had a look in her eyes as if she was contemplating violence.

"Chakra theory is essential to mastering ninjutsu, Naruto-kun. You are still having trouble with the Bunshin jutsu, right?" Hinata asked, primly picking at her lunch, her seiza position impeccable as always. Naruto grumbled something under his breath and moved from Sakura's lap. She eyed him suspiciously for a moment before starting to eat, but Naruto had moved to throw himself on Sasuke. Sasuke, who was looking broodier than usual today and had yet to touch his lunch.

"I'm pretty sure he's only having so much trouble because his control sucks," Ino said, and Naruto made a wounded noise in her direction.

"She has a point, Naruto-kun. Why? Because your control is so abysmal you have yet to complete the leaf-sticking exercise," Shino added.

"Why does everyone always have to pick on me?" Naruto moaned, burying his face in Sasuke's neck, who didn't even so much as twitch. I slowly raised an eyebrow at him.

"Because you're an easy target, duh," Kiba said, grinning. Akamaru, seated atop his head, yipped in agreement. Kiba had been ecstatic when he'd turned eleven last year and had finally been able to pick his ninken partner. Hana had gotten hers when she was eight, but that was because of her position as clan heiress. Something she'd mocked him for incessantly when we'd been growing up and he'd whine about the Haimaru brothers.

"His control could be worse, though. Naruto-kun can pull off the Kawarimi and Henge just fine," Chouji said, always ready to jump to the defense when we started to get too into teasing each other. Shikamaru sighed tiredly and rolled over, curling into a more comfortable ball between Chouji and Ino.

Shikamaru and I had been up late the night before going over fuuinjutsu designs that might supress seals, our minds still on the problem of what to do with the Hyuuga Branch House, as far away as that might seem to the others. I knew better, knew that soon enough we'd be dealing with such big threats we wouldn't have time to work on this one, so Shikamaru and I spent some time every month rehashing the plan we'd laid out nearly three years ago. He'd been picked up by his father at around midnight last night, and I just knew that he'd been up even later poring over the notes I'd lent him on some of my ideas. He was starting to reach a level of understanding of seals on par with my own, even though we'd only been working on it for a year and I'd been studying them for more than eight years. Naruto was, of course, still better.

"Sasuke-kun, you've been positively broody all morning. Something you want to share?" I asked, flicking a rice grain at him. It hit his nose and still no reaction, and my eyes widened in surprise. There were looks exchanged, and Naruto began frantically shaking his best friend.

"Sasuke? Sasuke, are you dead?! Please don't be dead, what am I supposed to tell Itachi?! He's gonna kill me! Plus, plus, Shisui will never let me live it down, and Yume-chan is gonna make fun of me forever, and the Old Pervert will-" He was cut off by Sasuke slapping his hand over Naruto's mouth and shooting him an unimpressed look. He almost immediately retracted it with a disgusted sound, wiping it furiously on Naruto's orange t-shirt, and Naruto stuck his tongue out.

"What are you, five?" Sasuke snapped, and Naruto pouted.

"But you weren't responding. Even when Yume-chan hit you with rice," He said, and Sasuke reached up in surprise to rub at his face, getting the rice grain almost immediately. He narrowed his eyes at me, but I smiled unrepentantly.

"You'd have dodged normally," I pointed out, and he sighed and looked down at his hands.

"Sasuke-kun? Are you all right?" Sakura asked, and he sighed again.

"It's…Father is trying to get Itachi to join ANBU again," He said, clenching his fists as he did. Sasuke had begun to grow obviously resentful of his father about a year ago, after years of hard work and effort being summarily ignored in favour of his brother. He still adored Itachi, couldn't find a single fault against him, so around that time I'd decided to step in and suggest he gain recognition by doing something his brother hadn't. In this timeline, that meant Sasuke had decided to go for ANBU. My parents hadn't been…very excited over the news, knowing better than most of their peers what exactly it entailed, and had tried to talk Sasuke out of it, but he'd been adamant. Fugaku had heard of his second son's plans, and been shiningly proud. For a few weeks. Then he'd almost immediately turned to harassing his older son into being 'more ambitious like his brother', and things had sort of devolved from there.

"You know he still loves you though, right? Sasuke-kun, he was so proud of you when you said you were going to try for ANBU," Ino pointed out, and Sasuke made an irritated noise and rubbed at his face again.

"Then why does he want us to be exactly the same?! Can't I have something for myself, just once?" He snapped, and we all went silent. I didn't have an answer for that one.

"Itachi-san's not going to give in. He knows how much this means to you," I finally said, popping a strawberry into my mouth.

"I know. At least big brother understands," Sasuke said, and leaned into Naruto tiredly. Naruto patted his head soothingly for a moment before turning to me, mouthing ' _help, he's heavy_.' I rolled my eyes, and mouthed back, ' _you cuddle him all the time, deal with it._ '

"Mikoto-sama understands too, though. She was talking to my mother yesterday about it, and Mother suggested she distract him with food or work the next time he tried. That always works with my father," Hinata said, pulling one of the cherry tomatoes out of her lunch and offering it to Sasuke. He thanked her quietly and ate it, looking a little better about everything.

"Is Hiashi-sama still bothering you about studying iryou-ninjutsu?" I asked, and she let out an amused huff.

"He tries. I usually just remind him that his great-grandmother was an iryou-nin, and he stops," She replied, and I smiled. I'd found that out for her when I was going through the Hokage Archives for a treatise on the Sarutobi clan's hiden jutsu, when she'd first approached me with her wish to study under Nanami-sensei. The rest of us girls had been learning about iryou-ninjutsu for a while before, and finally Hinata had given in and decided she'd wanted to join us.

"I don't see why he has to be so stuffy about it. So what if you're clan heiress? Being an iryou-nin is one of the most respectable positions in the village!" Sakura snapped, looking ready to start in on one of her tirades that mentioning Hiashi's disdain for her chosen profession usually brought on. Ino patted her shoulder consolingly and she subsided, grumbling under her breath but going back to her book.

I suddenly felt three familiar chakra signatures enter my sensing range, the fourth accompanying them not quite as well-known but sparking all over the place, and found myself grinning. Two of the signatures were moving for our position at top speed, their chakra flickering as if they were fighting, while the other two signatures followed behind at a more sedate pace.

"Incoming." I warned everyone, immediately drawing chakra to my legs and jumping up into the tree behind me, landing seated on a branch just as the others began to scramble away. In the next moment, there was the sound of an impact as two bodies landed in the spot where we'd been sitting a moment ago and began to roll around, one snarling and sounding panicked. The other was too busy laughing to respond, and as I took the chance to examine them I could see why. Shisui's latest victim was orange from head to toe, and did not look happy about it.

"Hey, Yume. I see you avoided the worst of it," My uncle Asuma said, landing in a light crouch beside me, and I grinned at him. He'd returned from his stint among the 12 Guardians last year, and had been chastised by Mama for hours after. Mostly for leaving without a word, but then she and Dad had hugged him super tight and said that he always had a place with us. He and Grandpa weren't actively arguing now, having decided to reach a ceasefire over whatever had prompted Asuma to leave in the first place. Grandpa was happy enough to have him back for now, and Asuma had come back much more laidback than he'd been when I was younger.

"Of course, since I sensed you all coming. Why did Shisui decide to prank Aoba-san, though?" I asked, and was answered by the bearer of the fourth chakra signature I'd sensed.

"Why does Shisui do anything?" A familiar voice said, and I struggled not to go still as my chest suddenly felt tight. ' _Every freaking time. What possible reason do I have to be so concerned, damn it?!_ '

"Because he's bored," I responded, glancing out of the corner of my eye to see Hatake Kakashi lounging on one of the other tree branches, his classic orange book in front of his face. He was dressed in his characteristic jounin uniform from the manga, hitai-ate slanted over one eye, and spiked, silver hair pointing up into the sky. "You shouldn't be displaying that pervert's books in front of impressionable children," I finally added, turning back to a pinned Shisui, who was still laughing, and a…well he was technically shrieking in a distinctly freaked out tone, but we'd say bellowing, Aoba. He'd lost his shades at one point or another, but you could see the lines where they'd been because there wasn't any orange there.

"How do you know what they are?" He asked, speaking in a monotone, but I could feel the flicker of pleasure in his chakra. I shrugged.

"Firstly, I can read," I deadpanned, pointing to the boldly displayed 'Jiraiya' on the front cover, underneath the title. "Second, anything that pervert writes can't be safe around kids. He's already corrupted one of my friends, I'd rather he didn't corrupt any more." Asuma snorted in amusement beside me and reached out to ruffle my hair. I batted his hands away with a pout, adjusting my pigtails back into place as he chuckled.

"Naruto hasn't been corrupted. You don't see him stalking hot springs, do you?" He said, and I turned to give him a look.

"He's not hit puberty yet. He doesn't understand why Jiraiya does it, but when he gets old enough, his hormones will teach him," I replied, and Kakashi's chakra flickered in surprise. "Until then, he's still enough of an innocent cherub that I don't want him getting worse."

"Your friend is worse than Shisui when it comes to pranks, though," Kakashi said, flipping nonchalantly to another page in his book, but I could feel regret from him almost immediately after. Was it from saying something else, or because we were talking about Naruto?

"He's Naruto," I said, shrugging as if that was all that needed to be said to explain it. "He's been the king of pranks since before I met him, and Shisui made him worse."

"I've done no such thing," Shisui called from below, Aoba having let him up to begin using some spray or other that he'd been handed. The orange was slowly melting off him, so I assumed it was the counter to whatever dye Shisui had used. "Naruto-sama has been an inspiration for ages, I'd never claim credit for teaching him a thing."

"Shisui-san, are you all right? That looked like it hurt," Sakura said, sidling up to him with adoring eyes. The others had emerged from wherever they'd been hiding while the ruckus had gone on, Naruto beaming at the compliment he'd just been given. Ino was eying Aoba with particular glee, and Shikamaru looked dead to the world again.

"Not to worry, Sakura-chan! I'm made up of stronger stuff than darling Aoba-chan," He said, utterly oblivious as he reached out to ruffle her hair and she looked up at him with hero-worship written across her face. I wasn't entirely certain how it had happened, but around the time I'd been expecting to interfere with Sakura and Ino developing a rivalry over Sasuke, Sakura had declared her undying love for Shisui. She'd loved the pranks for years now, but I'd still been blindsided. Ino had yet to say anything about a crush on anyone, but I'd caught her eyeing Neji, Sasuke and Itachi contemplatively once or twice.

Looking around as I felt Kakashi's signature suddenly exit my sensing range, I realized he must have ditched us when Naruto reappeared. I let out a sigh and leaned back on my tree branch, looking up at the way the sunlight filtering in through the leaves danced about, leaving warm spots on my face as it flickered across it.

"Is he…OK?" I asked Asuma quietly, and he reached out to pat my head. I glared at him as he did so, because even though I'd finally managed a growth spurt and was sitting at around the average spectrum of height for my age, being patted on the head still irritated me. I'd spent such a long time being taller then basically everyone around me before…things, that I was still trying to come to terms with being so short. Mama was average in height, and Dad and Asuma were over 6 feet in height. Grandpa was short, though, so I wasn't sure if I'd ever get to be all that tall in this body, and I already missed it.

"I don't know, Yume. He was in ANBU for a really long time," He replied, and I looked over at him questioningly. "Your parents came out OK because they spent more time outside than in, but Kakashi…not so much." At that, he reached for the pack of cigarettes he'd started carrying around after he got back. Apparently, he'd been introduced to them by a friend in the Guardians, and was now addicted to the little death sticks. I snatched the one he'd been about to stick in his mouth out of his hand and shot him a look. He just winked at me and put a cigarette in anyway, and I realized he'd switched it with a little stick from the branches waving around us without me noticing. Grumbling, I let it fall to the ground below.

"He feels really sad. All the time," I said after a brief pause, swinging my feet back and forth as, below us, Shisui began to prance around a suddenly enraged Sasuke. Shino was staying out of it, settled in beside Chouji and Hinata, all three of whom had resumed eating. Shikamaru was napping again, Aoba was still cleaning off, and Ino, Sakura, Naruto and Kiba were egging on one side or the other.

"He's got a lot to be sad about," Asuma said, watching me contemplatively for a moment. "But we're trying to help. Got any ideas?" I paused, lifting my hand to cup my chin and balancing my elbow on my knee so I could prop it up.

"He doesn't seem like the type to want to talk about it," I began, and I heard Asuma mutter 'understatement' under his breath beside me. I chose to ignore that, forging on aloud. "Shinobi don't…we don't really know how to deal with feelings, I've noticed. If giving him space resulted in him flinging himself into ANBU, maybe adjust that. Give him some space, but also give him anchors to the present. If he's stuck in the past, the only way to help him move forward is to remind him that there are other things, other people, around him that he can connect to, forge bonds with. Besides those trashy books." I shuddered at the thought of what they might contain. I'd not cared so much when this world had just been a story, but having lived here for more than twelve years, and having met the infamous Jiraiya myself, I endeavoured to burn those things the first chance I got.

"Anchors, huh?" Asuma said, looking thoughtful, and turned his head to smile at me softly. "Thanks, Yume. You sure you're not secretly an old woman trapped in a kid's body?" He teased, and I immediately tried to punch his shoulder, faking an offended look. He wasn't that far off. He chuckled, catching my fist easily, but squeezed it in gratitude before shifting and flinging himself off the branch to land beside a now clean Aoba.

"Come on man, we promised Gai we'd keep an eye on our resident hermit, and he escaped while you were tussling with a kid," He said, and Aoba let out a huff, pulling another pair of shades from his flak jacket and putting them on.

"The Uchiha needed to be taught a lesson. He's a menace to society," He joked, and Uncle Asuma just shrugged.

"Pretty sure he taught you a lesson, but alright." Aoba muttered something under his breath in response, his temporarily regained calm switching to embarrassment, and leapt past my Uncle, taking off into the trees in the direction Kakashi had left. Asuma chuckled again and took off after him.

"As much fun as this has been, Sasu-chan, I do have a prior engagement. I shall be by to pick you up after school with Itachi, so don't miss me too much!" Shisui said, planting a loud kiss on Sasuke's head before following the other two into the trees. Sasuke made an enraged noise, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, as Sakura began to pout over his sudden disappearance, and Naruto rolled around, laughing. A pretty standard day for us, overall.

* * *

"Big sister!" Came a chorus of three voices, and I turned with a raised eyebrow to spot Ko-chan, Moegi and Udon racing toward me from the house. I'd been about to leave to meet up with Hinata, Ino and Sakura for a girl's day out, but the kids must have spotted me first.

"What's up?" I asked, looping my unnecessarily long red scarf once more around my neck so that none of it trailed on the ground. Mama had decided to take up knitting and had already made scarves in varying colours for everyone in the family, including Naruto. His had been, but of course, orange, and he'd taken to wearing the thing everywhere he went. She'd moved onto making socks and hats, and I was not looking forward to the time when I had to pretend a hat that would make a good home for a family of cats fit me perfectly as well.

"Big sis, can you buy us dango?" Ko-chan asked, throwing his arms around my waist and latching on tight, grinning at me brightly. His own light blue scarf dangled along on the ground behind him and I reached out to adjust it, looping it a couple of more times around his neck. He'd cut his hair a while back, protesting that long hair was 'too girly', so now he had spikes like the ones he'd sported in the manga. He and Dad now had the same haircut, and since Ko-chan had taken to mimicking Dad's mannerisms whenever he was around, Dad had started proudly carting him around like his mini-me.

"I don't know…didn't you get in trouble at school a few days ago?" I asked, reaching up to cup my chin contemplatively, and hiding the amused smile that crossed my face at the sudden crestfallen looks on their faces.

"It wasn't our fault, really!" Moegi protested, hopping up and down and leaving little imprints in the recently fallen snow around us. It was early December now, and to my surprise and disgust the weather had been actively cold and snowy lately. It only snowed on occasion in Konoha, and didn't stick around for long, but this cold front had lasted two weeks now. Naruto was loving it, as he did most things that made pranking easier, but I'd had enough of snow and cold to last a lifetime. My original one, to be more precise.

"Yeah! Some civilian kid was being mean to Chi-chan, so we had to get him back for it!" Konohamaru protested, Udon nodding vigorously behind him. I reached into the well-stocked medic's pouch at my back and pulled out a tissue, handing it to him and waving vaguely at his face. Udon flushed, knowing what I meant, and blew his dripping nose. Kid was always sick with something or other.

"Like, 'pulling pigtails' mean, or 'I swear revenge on my ancestors' graves' mean?" I asked, waggling my eyebrows at the three, who started giggling.

"Pulling pigtails," Moegi replied, reaching up to pat at her own as if to reassure herself they were still there. Kami-sama, they were all so cute!

"Well, maybe this kid just has a crush on Chi-chan?" I said, and they all immediately started making disgusted noises at me. I let out a laugh and detached myself from Konohamaru, who pouted about it but let me.

"No way! Big sis, how does that make sense? Why would he be mean if he liked her?" my brother asked, and I paused to think over a way to explain it to them.

"Some people just say that when a boy is mean to you it means that he must like you," I finally said, shrugging. "Honestly, I think it's pretty dumb. If you like someone you're supposed to treat them well, or else they're going to leave and find someone who will." The three children around me nodded as if I was offering them the sagest of advice. It was common sense, really.

"Look, I have to go, but I'll sneak you dango if you can promise to hide it from Mama," I said, glancing up at the position of the sun in the sky and realizing I was running late. We were supposed to meet up at noon and the sun was almost at its zenith. There were solemn nods and promises from the three kids around me, and I waved goodbye as I headed away from the house and towards the Yamanaka flower shop. I needed to remember to pick up a present for Ko-chan while I was at it.

* * *

"I'm never going to learn all of this in time," Sakura wailed, slumping face first into the medical textbook she'd brought along with her on our outing. After meeting at the Yamanaka flower shop we'd made our way to the Uchiha district, Ino insisting that there was a new dessert shop that she wanted to try. It was a bit more like a café than a dessert shop, but I wasn't complaining. It was warm, the atmosphere was friendly, and it seemed to be mostly populated by ninja of varying ranks. We were getting a few looks at our booth, as usually tended to happen whenever we went out in public lately, but I just used my usual innocent smile and waved at them. I got some smiles in response, but other people immediately shifted their gazes away, embarrassed to have been caught staring by an Academy student, prodigy or not.

"Yes, you will, Sakura-chan. I have faith in you," Hinata said, reaching out to move away a pink strand of our friend's hair before it found its way in her dessert. Sakura's only response was another moan, and I rolled my eyes.

"You're so dramatic, yeesh. You say that about our tests every year, but you always do really well," Ino said, keeping half an eye on Sakura and the other eye on the Uchiha waiter that was making his rounds, her order on his tray along with several others. I was currently locked in a staring contest with the tabby cat that had taken up residence by the cash register in the front. I had never met the creature before, but it had started staring at me almost as soon as we'd come into the store.

"But this one is different! If I don't pass then Sakamoto-sensei is never going to want to take me on as an apprentice, and then all that work with Nanami-sensei will have been useless!" Sakura protested, lifting her green eyes to stare at the rest of us, and I was startled enough that I broke eye contact with the cat. It almost immediately began radiating smugness, and I glared at it. ' _That didn't count! Rematch!_ '

"Yumeko-chan, are you harassing more defenseless kitties?" Hinata asked, gingerly sipping from the cup of tea in front of her. She paused and then began to gently blow on it again.

"I'm doing no such thing. The cat started it this time, I swear," I replied, shifting my gaze to meet her amused one beside me. Ino and Sakura were seated across from us, Sakura and Hinata both by the window on their respective sides.

"You say that every time. What is it with you and the Uchiha district cats?" Ino said, taking a triumphant bite out of the cake she'd finally been given. She visibly melted, so it must have been worth the wait.

"I don't know! They're always following me around and staring, and I don't get it!" I said, crossing my arms over my chest and frowning. Some part of me wondered if it wasn't because the cats could somehow sense that I was different from everyone else, since I'd been reincarnated from a different world. Or maybe they were being sicked on me by Izumi from across the afterlife, which I wouldn't have blamed her for. I had other theories, but they got far more nonsensical. Regardless of why, the fact that cats had an obsession with me was weird and not something I liked contemplating for too long.

"Well, fancy seeing you four here," A familiar voice said, and I shifted to lean out of the booth to see Shiranui Genma and Namiashi Raidou approaching our table, the tabby cat from the front purring in Genma's arms. I narrowed my eyes at it as the others around me offered their various greetings.

"I didn't know you liked cats, Genma-san," I said, propping my chin in my hand and settling my elbow on the table so as not to reach out and start petting the cat. Just because they stalked me didn't mean I found them any less adorable. He chuckled in response.

"Who, this little guy? He's my cat, I just asked Granny Uchiha to watch him till I got back from my mission," He replied.

"The old woman who owns this cake shop is old friends with Genma, so she usually babysits Ryu for us when we're out of town," Raidou added, reaching over and scratching behind the cat's ears. It cracked one eye open to look at him and kept it fixed till he removed his hand, making a face at the cat as he did so.

"Ryu, don't be so mean to Raidou. He loves you too." Genma said, shooting a bemused look down at the cat in his arms. The cat sneezed in Raidou's direction at that before giving Genma a dejected look. I snorted in amusement as Raidou immediately began grumbling about ungrateful cats and the girls around me started giggling.

"Genma-san, I don't suppose you'd know anything about where Gai-san took his genin team, do you?" I said, and he looked at me contemplatively.

"That's right, he did go off on a C-rank with them a few days ago. Sorry, Sarutobi-hime, but I don't know the location. Why, your Hyuuga boyfriend didn't tell you?" He said, and I squawked in protest.

"He's not my boyfriend!" I cried, and realized that everyone was looking at us again. I plastered on my 'people smile' again and waved at them till they turned back to what they were doing. Ino and Sakura were snickering at me, and Raidou and Genma looked amused at my reaction, Ryu having cracked both eyes open to look at me, askance. Hinata made a thoughtful noise, and I turned to pout at her. "Don't you make those noises at me, Hinata-chan. You know I'm not dating him, nor would I. We're too young! And besides, he's like…like a brother!" I added, silently tacking on that he was _way_ too young. I couldn't look at any of the people around me like that, I felt queasy at the mere idea. ' _I'm more than twice their age!_ '

"I know, Yumeko-chan," She said, patting my hand consolingly, but I could still feel the amusement in her chakra. I pouted at the lot of them and crossed my arms over my chest as the others around me laughed.

* * *

"Happy birthday, Yumeko-chan!" Came the chorus of voices around me, and I grinned brightly. It was February 18th, my 13th birthday, and in a matter of two weeks we would be graduating from the Academy. Canon was looming in front of me like an oncoming tidal wave, and I was feeling less and less prepared as the days passed. I'd been training for years, as had my friends, and I'd managed to forge stronger bonds among the Rookie 9 and Neji than they'd had at this point in the manga, but it still didn't feel like enough. Not for what I knew was coming.

"Congratulations on another year of life, Youthful Yumeko-chan! I hope that you will appreciate the present I picked for you! I am certain that it will aid you as you progress into the Springtime of your Life, and your graduation into a genin!" Gai sang from the kitchen, momentarily sticking his head out to give me a dual thumbs-up. I smiled and shot him a thumbs-up in response, and he almost immediately ducked back into the kitchen and began wailing dramatically. I could hear the groans from the assorted tokubetsu jounin and jounin who'd taken up residence there, Genma insisting that Gai could appreciate my exuberance a little less loudly, and I snickered.

"You should stop encouraging him," Neji groaned from his position flopped across the couch, barely able to lift his head to glare at me. I smiled at him brightly in response.

"Why, whatever do you mean, Neji-chan? Your wonderful jounin sensei is one of my favourite people in existence, why shouldn't I show my appreciation?" I asked, pitching my voice loudly enough to carry, and the exuberant shouting started up again. Asuma almost immediately fled into the crowded living room, Kurenai on his heels, and they ducked out into one of the hallways. We'd moved a bunch of the dividing walls to make more room for everyone, but there were still a lot of people. Naruto and Ko-chan were both snickering, with Itachi looking unimpressed at Shisui's attempts to not start laughing as well. Neji just groaned and tried to lift an arm over his face, but aborted with a wince.

"Neji-kun, if you would just let me heal you then you wouldn't be so sore," Sakura insisted, giving him an unimpressed look from her position on one of the cushions on the floor, seated between Ino and Hinata.

"Gai-sensei would be suspicious I hadn't been 'training to my full potential' if you did," He replied, sighing and giving Hinata a pleading look so that she would roll him over. She obliged with an amused huff, getting up and gently rolling him onto his side, which he thanked her for quietly.

"Gai-san goes to get healing from intense training sessions at the Hospital though, doesn't he?" Chouji asked, and we all exchanged looks. ' _Frankly, I don't think he does._ '

"Definitely not!" We chorused, and there was some giggling at that. I stretched my legs out and leaned into Shino behind me, who was currently in the middle of a shogi match with Shikamaru. From the sounds of it, it seemed pretty intense, though I had no idea how they both got so into the game.

"Yume-chan, have you picked out a genin outfit yet?" Hana asked me from where she was snuggled next to Shisui on the couch, the Haimaru brothers in a large dog pile on the floor beside her. Itachi was on Shisui's other side to separate him and Sasuke. I immediately winced in response. Ino instantly began to puff up, looking outraged, and I braced myself.

"We're going shopping again tomorrow, right, big sis?" Ko-chan cut in, smiling at me, and I shot him a grateful look. Ino deflated slightly as Moegi and Chi-chan both snickered.

"Well, you'd better remember! You've been putting it off for weeks!" Ino insisted, crossing her arms over her chest, and I shrugged in response. I had been, mostly because I'd been trying to pretend that canon wasn't about to hit us like a freight train. The others had already picked out their signature outfits from the manga, as choosing one's genin outfit was considered a 'rite of passage' or some such nonsense. Genin outfits had to be specific to the wearer, something about them enabling a lower expenditure of funds on several random outfits that would only end up taking damage anyways, but also had to show clan affiliation, usually in the sense of your clan symbol or certain colours that matched your clan. Uniforms weren't mandatory till you got to the higher ranks, but even then, the regulations about what could and couldn't be worn were rather flexible.

Mama and Mikoto had balked at Naruto's choice of an orange jumpsuit, but Dad had sided with him, reminding them that he'd been pulling pranks and getting away unscathed in orange for years prior. Fugaku hadn't particularly cared one way or the other, especially once Naruto informed us that he was getting the Sarutobi and Uchiha clan symbols sown into the collar of the jacket, to show off his adoptive families. He'd been smug about it for days after, and Grandpa had been surprised at first, but had gone along with it with minimal protest. Mostly over the excess of orange.

"Why don't you wanna pick a genin outfit again, Yumeko-chan?" Kiba asked, yawning tiredly. He'd apparently stayed up late the night before training with Akamaru, who was napping on his head. He'd also finally stopped using that stupid nickname, for which I was grateful. It was bad enough that I still got variations of it from everyone else, I didn't need it from my friends.

"It's not that I don't want to, just that nothing really 'speaks' to me," I replied, making air quotes with my fingers, and I got a solemn nod from Naruto. He'd had the same problem till, by some stroke of luck, he'd found his orange jumpsuit in some out of the way corner of the clothing supplies warehouse, and fallen in love. Now there were a dozen copies of it in his closet, ready for his graduation.

"It is a serious decision. Why? Because that will be the outfit we wear for the remainder of our genin days," Shino added over his shoulder, and then immediately turned back to the game as Shikamaru made a triumphant noise.

"At least we've got more time to figure that out," Udon sighed, reaching for one of the dumplings on the tray in the center of us and popping it in his mouth. Hanabi was still staring at them, her head cocked, trying to decide which one she wanted to try. She was a pretty picky eater most days.

"We can still change around some of the colours though, and there are hot and cold climate versions we can pick out on request," Sasuke added, subtly attempting to reach over his brother and kick Shisui in the shin. He'd shown up already irritated at his cousin for something or other, and Itachi had looked longsuffering as he attempted to keep them apart. Itachi coughed, clearing his throat, but his disapproving eyes were on Sasuke, who immediately retracted his foot with a sheepish smile.

I stilled, turning to look in the direction of the front of the compound as I felt the arrival of a sparking chakra signature that could belong to only one person. Frowning, I closed my eyes and focused on it as it hesitated at the maximum point of my range, as if it was aware of it and didn't want to cross over and make itself known. My range had grown over the years, till I could proudly say that I could sense things around me in a one-kilometer radius, though I still only picked up emotions at around a 10-meter range. If there was a large concentration of certain emotions I could still get those, but that was because they remained overwhelming. At least I was way better at blocking out ambient chakra.

Finally, the chakra seemed to firm up and it moved in the direction of the house. I opened my eyes and got up, excusing myself as the others around me began discussing something or other. I made my way to the door, past groups of chatting adults, and waited as the signature seemed to hesitate at the threshold of the outer wall surrounding the house. I rolled my eyes and opened the door, stepping out to see Kakashi suddenly leaning against said wall, his book in front of his face, looking for all the world like he'd been that way for ages and not just scrambled into position as I was opening the door.

"Yo," He called out, sending me a casual two-fingered salute, as if he'd just noticed me. I huffed in amusement.

"Uncle Asuma wasn't kidding when he said you were going to be late," I joked, moving across the lawn to stand in front of him, propping my hands on my hips and looking up. Damn, he was tall **.** His one visible eye crinkled at me, as if he was smiling.

"You know, he never mentioned how uncute his niece was," He replied, and I shot him a bright smile. Cocking my head to one side, pointing my toes in, and clasping my hands behind my back, I made sure to radiate the kind of adorableness that had old ladies on the street cooing at me and giving me treats.

"He also didn't mention how uncool his friend was," I said with all the innocence and sweetness I could muster, and while his eye narrowed, I could feel his chakra flickering with amusement. Dropping the act, I turned back around and marched over to the house, calling over my shoulder as I did so. "Come on in before all the food is gone. Gai-san would be disappointed if you don't." He seemed to hesitate for another moment, but ultimately followed me in, disappearing into the kitchen before Naruto could see him to exuberant shouting, and cries of 'eternal rival'.

"Who was that?" Kiba asked, frowning as several of the other jounin who'd invaded the kitchen came streaming out, attempting to avoid whatever was happening inside. Mama let out a sigh and marched over to enact order, Dad following along behind with a grin on his face.

"Just some friend of Gai-san's," I said, shrugging, and settled in in front of Shino and beside Naruto and Chouji once again.

"He is no mere friend, dear Yumeko-chan! Kakashi-san is my eternal rival! Our score stands at 48 to 49, with he in the lead, but with my hard work and dedication I shall soon catch up!" Gai said, appearing beside the couch as if summoned, and I could hear Mama moving around and restoring order in her kitchen. Dad had been kicked out as well, but he had several cookies in hand and was munching away at them, so he didn't seem to mind too much. Glancing about, I spotted Kakashi leaning against one of the walls we'd left in place, his book out once more. His chakra was hesitant, and if I stared closely I could see him occasionally flicking glances at our group, his eyes focused on a chattering Naruto. There was pain and sadness in him when he did that, and I shifted my eyes over to Gai to see if he'd noticed.

He was currently in the middle of explaining his contests with Kakashi to Chouji, who'd apparently asked, but noticed me watching him and glanced in my direction briefly. I nodded to Kakashi, and he seemed to understand, because suddenly he was entering into one of his 'nice guy poses' and loudly declaring he would offer a demonstration.

"No," Kakashi immediately cut in, appearing before us and flipping to the next page of his book, and Gai started wailing dramatically.

"Oh, my hip, trendy rival! I will work to surpass your coolness one day!" He cried, and the younger children immediately shifted away from the manly tears, most of them crowding around me because I looked like I wasn't bothered by it.

"Big sis, make it stop," Ko-chan hissed at me, pleading, and the others his age nodded frantically. I rolled my eyes at that.

"Oh hush. Gai-san is one of Konoha's top jounin. He's allowed his eccentricities," I said quietly, and noticed Kakashi twitch out of the corner of my eye. "Most of them are pretty eccentric. Take Hatake-san for instance. Most people wouldn't be allowed to be eternally late and carry around one of Jiraiya-san's books in front of their face, but because he's so famous, he gets away with it," I continued, pitching my voice more loudly again. ' _Ooh, another twitch_ **.** ' The children around me all turned, wide-eyed, to stare at Kakashi. He glanced up at us for a moment, a brow raised, and then went back to his book.

"Why would you willingly read that old pervert's books?" Sakura asked, frowning.

"How are you famous?" Kiba said at the same time, peering up at Kakashi suspiciously.

"Ooh, do you know any cool justu?" Naruto added, bouncing up and down in sudden excitement, and I could feel Kakashi's chakra tightening up as if he was overwhelmed.

"Who knows, he holds the record for reaching the rank of jounin at the youngest age yet, among other things, and yes, he does," Shisui answered for him, beaming, and Kakashi seemed to relax a touch. Finally tucking his book away, he slouched slightly, looking over our group lazily.

"You're all Academy students?" He finally asked, and there were nods around the group.

"Most of us are graduating in a few weeks," Sasuke said.

"Then you're too young to understand the greatness that is Icha-Icha!" He said, beaming as if a personality switch had been suddenly flipped, and people slumped in disbelief.

"That's not an answer!" Naruto cried, leaping to his feet and pointing at him, and Kakashi shrugged.

"It's enough of one," He replied, his eye still closed and crinkled in a smile, and I huffed in amusement.

"Oh, Kakashi-kun, I didn't see you arrive," Grandpa spoke up, appearing out of nowhere, and most of the kids around me jumped.

"Gramps, stop doing that!" Naruto whined, sitting back down beside me.

"Stop doing what?" He asked, feigning confusion, but I could feel his delight. "Anyway, Kakashi-kun, might I borrow you for a moment? There was something I wanted to discuss."

"Grandpa, no Hokage business at home, remember?" I said. He winced, glancing around surreptitiously, but Mama was still in the kitchen.

"What your mother doesn't know won't hurt me," He replied, winking, and I let out a little laugh. Kakashi shrugged, apparently not caring, but the apprehension in his chakra was plain to see. Grandpa led him out, trying to draw him into a conversation about the new green scarf Mama had knitted him for his birthday, and I watched them go with a frown.

"Hey, Naruto, you still haven't mastered the Bunshin, right?" I suddenly asked, interrupting the conversations around me as I turned to him. His face immediately fell, and while I felt bad, I'd suddenly had an idea.

"No, and I'm never going to graduate, dattebayo!" He wailed, jumping to his feet and flinging himself at Sasuke for comfort, who attempted to dodge over the side of the couch. He succeeded, just barely, so Naruto latched onto Itachi instead, who looked amused at the sudden turn of events. Sasuke glowered at Naruto as he clung to his brother, and I rolled my eyes again.

"I just had an idea, so stop yelling. Why do you have to learn the standard illusory clone? Why not replace it with another type?" I suggested, and he paused for a moment to look at me. I'd been debating bringing this up for ages, but the sight of what could only have been Grandpa asking Kakashi to take on Team 7 had spurred me forward. Sasuke looked like he was internally debating whether to save Itachi, with the likely con being that he'd be used as a cuddle pillow instead.

"You could learn the Kage Bunshin, which, per Academy guidelines, can be used as a replacement for the standard Bunshin. You could also learn an elemental clone and it would accomplish the same thing," Itachi said, and Naruto beamed at him before detaching himself.

"Oh man, really? Why didn't anybody ever tell me!?" He shouted, and Itachi raised an eyebrow.

"You never asked?" He said, and there was snickering from the group at that.

"If it's an elemental clone you want, I could teach you my Rock Bunshin," Shisui said. "I picked them up from a couple of Iwa-nin a few years ago, but I don't get much use out of them. I don't really have any affinity for earth." Naruto flung himself at Shisui for that, chattering happily and dislodging Hana where she'd been lying across his lap. She looked amused and slid off the couch to snuggle Kiba instead, who immediately began protesting and trying to escape.

' _Welp, that's one problem solved. Take that, Mizuki!_ ' Smiling and watching the people around me, Gai attempting to convince Neji to join him and Lee for training in the morning, Sakura, Ino and Hinata chatting about Sakura's exceptional grade on the iryou-nin entrance exam, and Chouji offering food to Shikamaru as he and Shino continued to play shogi, I tried to push down the sudden, overwhelming feeling of dread filling my gut. ' _We're all going to be OK, right Izumi?_ '


	11. Threshold Arc: Not All at Once

A/N: A shorter chapter today, but it covers the beginning of canon (finally), so I'm excited we've gotten this far. I will preface by saying I don't particularly like this chapter itself, but I am done with wrestling with it, and I hope you guys still like it. As always, if you like it or don't, leave a review and let me know why.

To all of my reviewers, I really love hearing from you guys. While I've been busy with school, your reviews have kept a smile on my face and helped motivate me to keep writing, for which I am grateful. I promise, as soon as a lull in my real life comes up again, I'll respond to the backlog of reviews.

Anyway, as always, Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, and have fun reading!

* * *

Chapter 9-Threshold Arc: Not All at Once

"You can have it all. Just not all at once." - Oprah Winfrey

* * *

"All right, pencils down!" Came Iruka-sensei's voice, rousing me from my nap. I looked up, bleary-eyed, as he and Mizuki began moving through the aisles, collecting test papers and reprimanding students who hadn't listened to the original ending call. I sighed, sitting up and stretching my arms overhead, a calm Sasuke on one side and a somewhat panicked Naruto on the other.

Today was the day of the final Academy graduation exam. We'd spent the morning working on the written exam, which they'd provided us three hours to do. I'd finished it in an hour and spent the rest napping, ignoring the muttering of Naruto on my left as he worked out some of the problems aloud. Iruka-sensei had reprimanded him for it once and then let it go, as Naruto had been much quieter after. The nap was mainly due to the shitty dreams I'd had last night, preventing me from getting much sleep. I wasn't worried about failing the exam myself, but about Naruto failing. I wasn't sure if the changes I'd managed to make would have enough of an impact on this specific part of the canon timeline, especially if, as I suspected, Mizuki was out to make sure he did fail.

"Papers, please," Mizuki said (speak of the devil), having reached the back row, and smiled at us. I slipped on my 'people I don't like but can't show it' smile and handed him my test. He collected Naruto's and Sasuke's as well, the briefest curling of disdain in his chakra as he took the former, and then he turned to collect the exams from Hinata, Shino and Kiba.

Before we'd started our final year, we'd had a group meeting about our possible genin teams for the future. Based on the class list, Shikamaru and I had explained to the others that there were certain sorting methods that the Academy and Hokage used every year. I knew this because of my knowledge of the future, but I'd lied and said I'd found notes about it in the Hokage Archives. Shikamaru had just figured it out on his own, as he tended to do.

The continuation of the Ino-Shika-Cho formation that had made their fathers famous was guaranteed to continue with this generation, and I'd pointed out the likelihood they'd be put under a Sarutobi jounin. The ancient ties between our clans usually resulted in a Sarutobi taking over the instruction of genin from the Nara, Yamanaka or Akimichi clans when they graduated from the Academy. The other grouping we'd decided on was Hinata, Kiba and Shino, for tracking purposes. Their parents had all been in the Tracking corps when they were younger, but Shikamaru hadn't had an idea of what jounin they might end up with, and I wasn't saying.

Finally, he'd said, there was the usual grouping of the top two students of the year and the dead last. In this timeline, thanks to the efforts of my family and the Uchihas, Naruto was sitting right in the average section of the class, because Mikoto had refused to allow him to fall into last place. That position currently belonged to Kiba, who was lazy, and right above him was Shikamaru, who was even lazier. Since they were out of the running, and Sasuke and I were the top-ranked students in our year, Shikamaru had concluded that they'd likely ditch that combination in favour of placing us with someone who would turn our team into a frontline combat squad. With Sasuke's Uchiha heritage and possibility of unlocking the Sharingan, my training as an iryou-nin and status as a prodigy, and a jounin who could offer us combat support, it made the most sense. Since that was the case, Shikamaru had said that we'd likely end up with Naruto, who was a chakra powerhouse and capable of throwing around the jutsu he knew like no one's business.

Since then, we'd settled on sitting together and starting to act like the teams we thought we'd be, to demonstrate to our instructors and the Hokage that we were aware of what they were planning and wanted it to be known who we wished to work with. Nobody had said anything about it, but when Grandpa had come by to visit the graduating classes at the beginning of last year, he'd definitely been entertained.

With all the papers collected, Iruka-sensei and Mizuki directed us out to the back grounds so they could begin marking with the rest of the teachers. We settled into our usual corner by the treeline, but nobody seemed to want to start eating. We were silent, tense, and all staring at Naruto and Kiba.

"Umm…I…think it went OK?" Kiba eventually piped up, shrugging. Akamaru yipped on top of his head in agreement, and I exchanged a look with Shikamaru.

"Define, 'OK'," Ino said, crossing her arms, and Kiba fidgeted for a second.

"Well, a lot of the stuff on the test was things we reviewed when you guys made me study, but I couldn't remember how to do some of it," He admitted, and Hinata let out a sigh.

"It should be all right, Kiba-kun," She said consolingly, patting his arm, and he drooped a little. He wanted to graduate with the rest of us, but his rank as dead last meant that he needed to do very well on the written exam to pass onto the practical portion. Thus, we'd had marathon studying sessions with him and Naruto the past two weeks, after my birthday, and it had seemed to be going well. We'd know soon enough.

"What about you, Naruto?" Chouji asked, and Naruto immediately stilled, looking like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Naruto?" Sakura repeated, a menacing look on her face, and he swallowed.

"Err…I don't remember?" He said, and there was a sudden silence.

"What do you mean you don't remember?" Sasuke asked, frowning at him, and Naruto refused to look at any of us.

"I was panicking so bad that after I finished I just sort of…blanked?" He admitted, reaching a hand up to rub the back of his neck, and we all kind of slumped.

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it now. Let's eat, we've got the practical portion to worry about next," I said, and there were sighs and grumbles of agreement as we all pulled out our lunches and tried to eat.

* * *

"Aburame, Shino," Called out Iruka-sensei, reading from a list in his hands, and Shino nodded to us before moving to stand behind him. The other instructors had apparently decided to have Iruka inform us of who was passing onto the practical exam, and he'd come out just a moment ago to inform us that if our name wasn't called we hadn't passed. Anyone who hadn't was free to repeat a year or take the exam next session.

He continued to read out the list of names, more of our group being added to the growing crowd behind Iruka as other people left, some crying, others angry, others just kind of done with everything. When he got to the 'I' family names and Kiba's name was called, there was minor cheering from our group as Kiba grinned and swaggered over to Iruka-sensei. He looked entertained at our reaction and continued to call names. Soon enough, we had all huddled together behind Iruka-sensei, having all passed, and were quietly planning what we would do for the next part of the exam.

We were split up then, randomly it seemed, because I could find no rhyme or rhythm to the groups that formed and were led off by various chuunin instructors to begin the taijutsu portion of the exam. I'd remained with Naruto and Sasuke, but the rest of our friends had been led off by other chuunin instructors from other classes.

"Naruto, you need to be careful to keep your guard up. Remember, big brother was saying that you start to get too into a fight and your defense falters," Sasuke was saying to Naruto as I made my way over to the central ring that had been set up for our group's taijutsu spars. I was going to be facing off against Iruka-sensei, which left me feeling a bit apprehensive. I'd yet to spar with him in any of the years that I'd been his student, something I was now thinking had been done purposefully, but I'd watched him fight in demonstrations against Mizuki enough times that I had some idea of his style.

The way taijutsu practice had worked for years was spars amongst the students, and then the spars at the end of the year for exam purposes against Mizuki or other assistant instructors. As the assistant teacher to our class, he'd drawn the short straw when it came to such things. With my training with Ebisu-sensei, and later Mama and Dad, my taijutsu scores had always been top of the class. I wasn't sure I would have done nearly as well in the practical aspects of ninja life if it hadn't been for my family and tutors, and was suddenly absurdly grateful for the lot of them. Everything that they'd taught me would help me survive in the years coming up, and I would just need to keep working and getting better in the long term if I hoped to live through what was to come.

"Good luck, Yumeko-kun," Iruka said, smiling at me as I stood across from him, and he extended the seal of confrontation. I smiled in response, extending the same seal before we both bowed and slipped into our stances. Analyzing it quickly, I noticed he was using the Konoha Standard defensive stance, straight from the textbook. Calming my suddenly racing heart and taking a deep breath, I waited. I'd always had brief spouts of sudden anxiety before anything big, whether it was a presentation to a crowd or the moment before a test. It was a holdover from my last life, and even though I could say that I was more confident this time around, I still couldn't quite shake that quirk. He watched me for a moment, and then suddenly moved.

' _Fast!_ ' I ducked down just in time to avoid his kick and then immediately rolled away to avoid another strike. Popping to my feet, I whirled and was forced to dodge again as a punch came for my face. ' _He's really not holding back. Fine then, guess I won't either._ ' I blocked his next strike, my chakra reinforced hand flashing out and catching his incoming fist, and we both froze for a moment. Leaping away till we were at opposite ends of the circle, I watched him for a moment, forcing my breath to be steady. Iruka-sensei wasn't showing anything on his face, but I could feel the pride in his chakra and that spurred me forward.

Rushing in, I feinted to the right before kicking low at his left side, aiming for his knee. He dodged, just barely, and then I was on the offensive as we traded blows. I was glad that I'd been practicing with my chakra weights for so long, because even though I was wearing them at their highest setting today, I was still able to keep up with him. I gave Iruka-sensei no quarter, aiming for all his vital points with my fists and legs as he worked to either dodge or block me. He caught my ankle as I made for a side kick and moved as if to throw me out of the ring, and I grinned. Bending my knee and latching onto the arm that had grabbed me with my own hands, I rapidly swung my head forward, going for a head-butt.

Sensei looked startled at the tactic, momentarily jerking back, and I took the opening for what it was. As he moved backward I pried my leg free of his grip, switching my grip on his arm and using it as a balance point to whirl around through the air, using my knee and smashing it into the side of his head. He was left stunned for a moment, and I took the advantage by finishing my landing and shooting a fist forward to aim for the same location, to stun him further. Suddenly, a whistle blew, and I froze in place.

"Sarutobi Yumeko passes with a first-strike victory," The other chuunin instructor who'd been with our group announced, noting something down on his clipboard. I took a deep breath and then another, trying to calm down, and smiled sheepishly as Iruka-sensei turned to face me, rubbing his cheek where I'd hit him.

"Sorry about that, Iruka-sensei," I said, extending my hand in the seal of reconciliation, and he chuckled, mimicking me, and linking his fingers with mine for a moment. "Want me to heal it before your next match?"

"I'll be all right, Yumeko-kun. Good job on breaking my block, I wasn't expecting that. The head-butt was rather unorthodox, though. Have you been practicing another taijutsu style?" He asked, and I nodded brightly. I'd mostly avoided using Mama's taijutsu style during school, unless it was to fight Mizuki.

"Yup. Dad showed me a few of his favourite moves after my birthday, and Ebisu-sensei and I have been working on incorporating them into my own style," I replied, and he nodded contemplatively, wincing slightly, and clutching at his jaw. The head-butt was something I'd copied from Naruto, though, who had a hard-enough head to justify using it as a last-ditch effort in some of his spars. Normally, such a move was discouraged because the possible risks outweighed the benefits, but I hadn't been planning to land the move, just using it as a distraction.

"Maybe I could take that healing?" He joked, and I laughed. Flashing through the hand signs for the most basic of healing jutsu, my hands lit up with a pale blue light.

"Shousen Jutsu," I breathed, completing the incantation, and moved over to hold my hands to the side of Iruka-sensei's face as we moved out of the ring for the other chuunin to take a turn, Iruka-sensei taking the clipboard. He ducked a little so I could reach, causing me to pout, but I returned my focus to speeding up the healing of the muscles and blood vessels I'd damaged when I'd hit him. It took me a few moments, just to be sure the healing had taken, but then I let the technique go and stepped back.

It had taken me a couple of months, but I'd finally been able to find a way to work with a patient's chakra system as I healed them. Even though I wasn't planning to pursue a career as an iryou-nin, I was fully certified by Nanami-sensei, who'd trained for years as an ANBU field medic and knew what she was doing. I'd be able to handle most major issues that Team 7 might come across in the years to come.

"Any residual soreness?" I asked as Iruka-sensei turned to concentrate on the match in front of us, and he shook his head. I left him to it, moving over to where Sasuke and Naruto stood at the side of the ring. Naruto immediately began chattering to me about the new move I'd used, and I split my attention between him and the match.

* * *

"Nara, Shikamaru," Mizuki called, and Shikamaru sighed and got to his feet, moving to head into the classroom where our class was taking the second part of the practical exam. Based on our scores from the first half and the taijutsu portion, more of the graduating class had been whittled away. Our group had all made it through, and Shino, Chouji, Sakura, Hinata, and Kiba had already officially passed, leaving the building to wait for us at the front gates with their hitai-ate in hand. They'd all seemed like they wanted to stop to talk to the group, but none had managed it so far. The chuunin had been watching us all like hawks.

Shikamaru came out a couple of minutes later, his own hitai-ate in his hand, slouching as he walked, but there was a slight smile on his face. He nodded to us as he passed by where we were seated, although I could feel concern flickering through his chakra even if I didn't know the cause, and we mouthed our congratulations at him. Naruto had already gotten us into trouble for cheering when Shino had passed, so we were being quiet now.

More and more students were called, some passing and others not, and then it was my name being called. Naruto nudged my shoulder with his, Ino smiled at me and Sasuke nodded, and I smiled back before heading into the classroom. It wasn't one of the tiered rooms we'd used for classes, instead flat and empty save for one large desk which five chuunin sat behind. I recognized them all, having spent six years in the Academy around them even though they weren't my class' instructors. Two of them were Iruka-sensei and Mizuki, obviously, as they had been my instructors since I started at the Academy.

"Sarutobi, Yumeko," Iruka-sensei said, flicking through some of the sheets in front of him and looking tired.

"You've done very well here, Sarutobi-hime. We're very glad to have been able to work with Konoha's latest prodigy," One of the other chuunin said, a young woman with pretty, turquoise eyes and brown hair pulled into a low braid, and I pulled on my 'people' smile. That stupid nickname again. When would I ever be free of it?

"It's been an honour to be taught by you," I chirped. ' _Not. Besides Iruka-sensei, the rest of you treat Naruto like crap._ '

"It says here that you're versed in some of your clan's hiden ninjutsu. We all know that you're going to pass today, but might we get a demonstration for a bit of extra credit?" Another chuunin asked, this one male with vibrantly green hair and a large scar going across his left cheek, and I stilled. Wait, what?

"We need to test her on the curriculum, Hidetaka, not things she learned outside of the Academy," Iruka-sensei snapped. The other chuunin shifted uncomfortably around him as I felt him leak the slightest amount of killing intent, and I raised an eyebrow. He looked done with the lot of them. What did they do?

"What do you want me to demonstrate first?" I asked, smiling brightly, and interrupting to try and cut through the tension.

"Of the Academy curriculum: The Henge first, please," Mizuki said, seeing what I was doing and trying to speed this along. I grumbled internally about not wanting to help him out, but flashed through the hand seals as directed. I poofed into a perfect copy of Grandpa, pipe, robes, hat and all, and twirled the pipe along my fingers for a moment as the chuunin took notes.

"Kawarimi," Mizuki ordered, and I swapped myself with the dummy they'd set up in the back of the room, still looking like Grandpa, before I swapped back. More notes, and a brief smile from Iruka.

"Now, Bunshin. As a note, we've been informed by the Hokage to tell you that, should you wish to demonstrate a form of Bunshin other than the Academy standard, there will be points deducted from your overall score," The last of the three chuunin said, another male whose head was currently wrapped in bandages, only the slightest strands of blond hair peeking through, and I froze in place.

"What?" I choked out, and they looked at me in surprise. That had come out in Grandpa's voice, and I shook myself and released the Henge. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"

"Hokage-sama wanted the students informed of a new regulation that had been put in place a few days ago. I believe the Elder Council passed it," Mizuki said, his chakra feeling smug, and I internally started swearing. ' _Stupid, old, bitter assholes! How could they!? How did they even find out?!_ '

"How many points, exactly?" I asked, and the chuunin exchanged looks for a moment, appearing hesitant. "I promise I won't tell a soul, I was just wondering. See, I can do the regular Bunshin just fine," I said, lying through my teeth as I flashed through more hand signs and 10 illusory copies of me poofed into place, all smiling that same innocent smile.

"Well…we're not supposed to tell the students this, but any demonstration that doesn't include the standard Bunshin only receives half the points," The only female chuunin said, and I made sure not to slump in relief. Naruto should still be able to pass then. The chuunin made a couple of more notes, and then Iruka picked up one of the hitai-ate on the table in front of him and held it out to me.

"Congratulations, Yumeko-kun, you passed. You are now officially a genin of Konoha," He said, smiling, and I skipped forward to take it with a grin.

"Thank you, Iruka-sensei," I replied, bowing to him before I whirled and booked it out of the door, rushing over to my expectant friends and presenting the gleaming headband with pride. Naruto and I fist-bumped, Ino hugged me for a second, and Sasuke nodded in congratulations.

"Naruto, they changed the Bunshin regulations," I hissed at him, and he immediately paled. Mizuki stepped out to call another name, and spotted me talking to the others. I immediately turned to smile at him before waving at my friends and heading out of the Academy. Well, at least I'd warned him **.** When I got outside the others were all waiting and congratulations were passed back and forth before I managed to tell them about the regulation change.

"We heard. How? Because they repeated the same message during all our exams, we were just forbidden from saying anything," Shino said, and there were solemn looks from everyone else in the group. It wasn't fair to Naruto, who'd been practicing with Shisui for weeks to get the Rock Bunshin to work. It also explained why everyone had looked like they wanted to talk to us as they were leaving.

"I warned him about the regulation change, but before I could explain anything Mizuki caught me," I said, sighing. "You get half points though, so if Naruto did well in everything else he should still pass."

We waited expectantly as more people came out of the Academy, some successful and others not, before Sasuke emerged, his hitai-ate already in place around his forehead. We exchanged tight nods and both turned to watch the entrance, waiting. To our surprise Ino came out first, and it felt like my stomach bottomed out.

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, and Ino shook her head.

"He went in before me and came out without a hitai-ate, but Mizuki-sensei asked him to stay behind," She said, and I looked down at the ground, clenching my fists in a sudden wave of anger. It wasn't fair! Naruto deserved to graduate! He was a good ninja, a good friend, and was so much more advanced than he had been at this point in the manga. This didn't make any sense!

"Should we…should we wait?" Sakura asked.

"Hey guys!" Naruto's voice called, sounding supremely chipper, and my head snapped up to see him coming out of the building, waving, still no hitai-ate in sight. ' _Oh, Naruto…_ ' His chakra was as dejected as I'd ever seen it, the once bright sun a tight ball of hurt in his chest, but he had the biggest grin on his face. ' _Fake._ '

"Sorry I kept you guys waiting," He said, grinning. None of us knew what to say though, and we descended into an awkward silence. Naruto reached up to rub at the back of his neck sheepishly before giving us a closed-eye grin. "Don't you worry about me; I've already got a plan!"

"What plan?" I asked, my eyes narrowing in suspicion. He hesitated, and I forged on. "Naruto-kun, what did Mizuki say to you back there?"

"Nothing, nothing!" He insisted, but I could tell he was lying.

"You can't trust him," I said, and he frowned at me.

"It's always 'Mizuki' with you, no –sensei. And why can't I trust him? He's never done anything to me!" Naruto said, and I clenched my teeth in a sudden flare of anger at his overly trusting nature.

"He hates you!" I burst out. "They all do! You don't get it, you don't feel it, but I do! I can sense it in them, **the anger, the disgust, and the disdain** for the ' **demon brat** ' and it drives me insane! They're all such hypocrites, it makes me want to scream!" I snarled, and froze as I realized what I'd said.

"'Demon brat', huh," Naruto muttered, looking down at the ground.

"Naruto-kun, I didn't mean-" I began, but he cut me off.

"It's OK, I know. But I still think you're wrong. Mizuki-sensei is a shinobi of Konoha, he's my comrade, so I'm going to trust him. I want to trust him," He said, smiling at me brightly, but I could still feel the roiling in his chakra. I'd hurt him by saying all that, by revealing what I'd been hiding about the people around him who faked liking him for one reason or another. He knew that most of the village disliked him, but there had been a fair amount of people who faked pleasantness around him because of his association with the rest of us. He was always so trusting, so willing to believe the best in people, that he hadn't realized how fake those people were.

"No, please, I-" He turned and ran off before I could finish though, waving merrily over his shoulder.

"Eat some of Madoka-san's cake for me!" He called, turning around the corner and disappearing. I was frozen in place, my hand outstretched as if I'd been about to grab him, to do something to stop him, but it was too late.

"I shouldn't have said that," I said quietly, looking down and clutching my hands together in front of my chest.

"What did you mean about not being able to trust Mizuki-sen…Mizuki-san," Shikamaru said, correcting himself, and I looked up to realize he had his hands in his concentration seal and looked contemplative. The others around me had similar looks of seriousness and concentration, but I didn't feel anything like judgement coming from them. ' _They…they believe me._ '

"He's always hated Naruto-kun, like I said," I replied, still quiet. "I can feel it every time I'm nearby. His chakra…it gets all spiked and edgy and jumps around a lot. It's not like it would be if he had Lightning-based chakra, because I know he's earth-natured, it's like…like it wants to leap out and hurt Naruto," I finished, trailing off as Shikamaru looked at me, a gleam in his eyes.

"Have you always been able to tell emotions from chakra like that?" He asked, and I nodded. "We need to tell someone, then. It could be a trap to lure away Naruto-kun so someone can hurt him," He continued, and everyone nodded around me.

"Who would we tell though? Yumeko-chan, have you ever told anyone about your emotion sensing ability before?" Hinata asked, and I shook my head.

"My parents just think I'm really sensitive to emotions and good at reading people," I replied. "They and my tutors know I'm a sensor, but only for chakra." Everyone paused to think it over for a moment, and I felt a warmth start to fill my chest. ' _They're all really good friends. I don't deserve them, not least because they don't actually know anything about me_.'

"Maybe we could ask Iruka-sensei what Mizuki-s…Mizuki-san held Naruto-kun back for?" Chouji offered.

"I think some of us should go to the Uchiha compound and tell our parents that Naruto-kun ran off, though. Maybe we can get some of the Military Police to start looking for him?" Ino added.

"We can do both. Sasuke-kun, you take half of the group and go tell them what happened. Yumeko-chan, you, Kiba-kun, Shino-kun and Hinata-hime stay with me. We're going to track down Iruka-sensei and then maybe see about tracking down Mizuki-san if that doesn't work," Shikamaru said, and we all nodded. Half the group took off after Sasuke and the rest of us marched back into the school building, determined to hunt down Iruka-sensei.

"Hinata, can you activate your Byakugan and locate him?" Shikamaru asked, and she nodded. We all waited as she flicked through the hand signs and suddenly the veins pulsed around her eyes. I wanted to offer up that I already knew where he was, because I could sense his signature, but Shikamaru seemed to be on a roll here so I kept my mouth shut.

"Byakugan!" She said, keeping her hands in the final seal position to focus her chakra into the doujutsu. "I think…it looks like he's in the east wing of the building. There are a couple of people with him, but not Mizuki-san," She said, and Shikamaru nodded.

"Good. Yumeko-chan, do you know what that part of the school is?" He asked and began to lead us down the hall.

"Pretty sure that's where the chuunin teacher's lounge is. They always retreat to the east building during lunch, but none of the students are allowed in there so I'm not sure," I replied.

"It is the chuunin lounge. How do I know? Because I have had my kikaichu track Iruka-sensei and Mizuki-san there before. For training purposes," Shino said, pushing up on the bridge of his shades, and we all nodded.

It took us a couple of minutes and Hinata guiding with her Byakugan before we found the room. I knocked politely, putting my best 'people' smile into place, and waved everyone else back a step. The female chuunin from earlier answered the door, a drink in her hand and a surprised smile on her face.

"Hello, Sensei!" I chirped. "I was wondering if Iruka-sensei was still here."

"Oh, Sarutobi-hime! Hello! Yeah, he hasn't left yet. Can I pass him a message for you?" She asked, the corners of her eyes crinkling as she smiled back at me.

"Yes, please. Can you tell him we need to talk to him? It's about Naruto." I felt the sputter in the pattering rain that was her chakra as I said his name, but her smile didn't falter.

"Of course, just give me a minute." And with that she shut the door in our faces. I sensed her moving away and over towards the flickering flames of Iruka-sensei. It took a minute, but then he was moving for the door and opening it, looking down at the five of us with concern.

"Yumeko-kun? What is it? What's wrong with Naruto-kun?" He asked, stepping out into the hallway with us and shutting the door behind him. Our group exchanged looks, and Shikamaru nodded to me to explain.

"Can we go and talk in the classroom?" I asked, sensing the fluttering of disappointment from the chuunin who had been listening in. He blinked in surprise but nodded, and I led the way back to the west wing and our classroom. Once we got there I immediately began explaining, leaving out the bit about my ability to sense emotions based on chakra fluctuations and instead making up something about overhearing Mizuki talking about his hatred for Naruto. When I was done Iruka-sensei's face was inscrutable, but he felt hurt and angry.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked, and I nodded.

"We're worried, sensei. Why? Because we do not trust Mizuki-san to not try to hurt Naruto-kun," Shino said.

"If he was faking being nice to Naruto for so long what else could he have been faking?" Kiba added, crossing his arms over his chest. Akamaru made a sad whuffling noise, covering his face with paws. He was worried, just like the rest of us.

"I'm sorry kids, but I don't know what they talked about," Iruka-sensei said, sighing, and rubbed at the scar on his nose. We all drooped in disappointment at that. "I'll go and inform the Hokage that something might be up, though. He can put ANBU on alert, at least."

"Why ANBU? Aren't they usually busy with other things?" Shikamaru asked, and I could see the sudden interest in his eyes. Iruka hesitated for a moment, and I could almost see the gears in his brain starting to whir.

"Konoha takes possible child abductions a lot more seriously than most," Iruka-sensei finally said, and that seemed to halt Shikamaru's train of thought. It made me go cold, but only because I was the reason that that was true now. It was then that the village-wide alarm system began to blare, and we all froze in place.

' _Jounin. ANBU. Report to mission stations. Jounin. ANBU. Report to mission stations. High-priority target. Stolen Item. High-priority target. Stolen Item. Emergency. Emergency. All shinobi. Standby. All shinobi. Standby_.' I quickly translated, and felt dread begin to rear its ugly head. The alarms continued to repeat their patterns as we all exchanged looks.

"You don't think this has anything to do with Naruto. Does it?" Kiba asked, and I turned to look out the windows to see the rapidly setting sun disappearing across the village.

"With his luck? It definitely does," I replied, and silently cursed my complacency. ' _Damn it! I should have been prepared for this!_ ' I knew that things were going well, but canon was just around the corner! I should have known better.

* * *

The alarms lasted for hours after. Iruka-sensei had ushered us out of the Academy and gone to speak with Grandpa, so we'd made our way to the Uchiha district. We'd come across Itachi, Shisui and Hana on our way there, all of whom were reporting for the emergency, and Hana had sent one of the Haimaru brothers to escort us back.

Our parents were worried when we finally showed up, as evidenced by my Mama and Yoshino almost immediately engulfing me and Shikamaru in hugs, Tsume beginning to berate Kiba for not sending word sooner, and Shizuko and Hikari having silent conversations with Shino and Hinata. Shikaku, Dad, Shibi, Fugaku, Chouza, Hiashi, Inoichi and Fumiko had already reported in by the time we go to the Uchiha mansion. The parents were aware of what had happened with Naruto, but Mikoto told us that the emergency alarms had ended the search before it could get started.

We stayed and ate dinner in the Uchiha district. It was late at night when the alarms finally stopped, but none of our group was asleep. Most of the younger children had drifted off several hours before, but when the noise ended I felt Konohamaru begin to shift, as he'd been using my lap as a pillow till then.

"Big sis?" He said, yawning and blinking up at me.

"Hmm?" I hummed and gently stroked his hair. He closed his eyes and let me for a moment before opening them again.

"Is big bro Naruto gonna be OK?" He asked, and I sighed.

"I don't know." Though really, I had an idea. If things played out like canon, we'd see him in the morning. Hopefully he wouldn't be hurt. If he was, I was going to track down that bastard Mizuki and hurt him **ten times worse.**

"No worries, Konohamaru. If anything happened to him we're gonna kick the butt of whoever did it!" Kiba whispered, echoing my inner thoughts as he quietly punched his fist into his open palm. Akamaru was asleep on his head or he probably would have echoed the sentiment.

"What time is it?" Sakura whispered, shifting from where she'd been leaning against Ino, both propped up beside the bed. She stretched and winced, reaching up to rub at what I assumed was a kink in her neck.

"After midnight," Sasuke whispered back from his position on guard by the door. We'd sequestered ourselves in his room when the parents had tried to make us go sleep, but his door was open a crack so we'd be able to hear any noise that drifted up the stairs.

"The alarms stopped. Do you think that means they found Naruto?" Chouji asked, and there was silence among us at that. The alarms had just specified that a high priority target had stolen something, not who that target was. It was Naruto getting that forbidden scroll for Mizuki, but I couldn't just say that.

That was when the sounds of movement downstairs could be heard, and we all froze. Closing my eyes and concentrating, I almost cried in relief. There was Iruka-sensei, by the door, and Naruto. Naruto's chakra was dormant, as if he was asleep or unconscious, but Iruka's chakra felt drained and wavered like he was injured.

"Iruka-sensei is at the door. He's got Naruto with him," I hissed, opening my eyes. There was relief on everyone's faces, and most of us were smiling. Shikamaru was looking contemplative again, though, and Sasuke was frowning in concentration, his ear tipped towards the crack in the door. Shino's jacket collar covered his mouth, but I assumed he was probably smiling in relief too.

"Shh, they're coming!" Sasuke hissed, and we all immediately began to scramble to look like we'd been asleep for a while. We were in position just as the door opened, suddenly bathing us in light from the hallway, and I fought the urge to react.

"Looks like they wouldn't leave till he was back, huh?" Iruka's quiet voice said.

"They're all very close," Mikoto said, sounding sad but proud at the same time.

"He should sleep through the night. He used up a lot of chakra," Iruka said after a moment, sounding slightly awkward. I heard him tiptoe around our bodies and set Naruto, with a creak, on the bed beside Shikamaru. I could sense that Naruto still had most of his reserves left though, which had me inwardly frowning. For a moment, I focused, trying to pick apart his chakra from the Kyuubi's, but found I couldn't. It all felt the same to me. ' _Why didn't I notice this before? Kushina's chakra was so distinct from Kurama's when I was a baby. Maybe it's because Naruto's seal is different?_ '

"Thank you for bringing him, Umino-san. Are you sure you shouldn't see a medic?" I heard Mikoto asking as she shut the door behind Iruka-sensei, and I waited till I felt their chakras drift down the stairs towards the signatures of the rest of the adults before I moved. Straightening up, I gently moved Ko-chan's head so I could stand. He was already scrambling to his feet though, racing for the bed, and I got up and followed. Everyone, except for the actually asleep Moegi, Udon and Hanabi, was doing the same, and Shikamaru was sitting up beside Naruto and frowning down at him.

"He doesn't look hurt," Sakura muttered, lighting up her hands with the blue of a diagnostic jutsu and carefully settling her hands over his heart. "No wounds, nothing broken, nothing strained…he just seems exhausted."

"Iruka-sensei mentioned he used a lot of chakra. Do you think there was a fight?" Hinata asked, reaching out and stroking the hair away from Naruto's forehead. He was sweaty and dirty, his jumpsuit looking like it had taken a beating, but he was physically OK. Jinchuuriki healing at its finest, I supposed.

"Probably. It's likely that Mizuki-san had Naruto-kun steal some item for him, and when our forces caught up to them there would have been a fight to get it back," Shikamaru guessed, looking up at all of us.

"Not our forces," I said quietly, and they all looked at me. "I think it was just Iruka-sensei and Naruto-kun. He was hurt and his chakra was drained when he brought Naruto-kun back."

"Well, we can ask him in the morning. For now, let's sleep. We have Ninja ID photos and paperwork to do in the morning," Ino said, her hands on her hips, and there was a chorus of quiet laughter. She was right, of course, and we all settled in around Sasuke's room, Hinata and Sakura carefully removing Naruto's sandals and outer jacket before tucking him in. We could finally sleep now that the last of our number was back and safe among us once again.

* * *

A/N (Continued): And that's the end of that! I might end up covering the way things went down between Naruto and Mizuki in another Intermission, but I'm not sure yet. We'll see how much time I have for it.

Speaking of time, my final exams are coming up, which means that I'm going to be busy studying basically all of April. Since that is the case, next week will be our last regularly scheduled update before I start posting once every two weeks. This will both give me more time to study, and help me build back up the buffer of chapters I started off with. Seriously, guys, I've only got about five chapters left of buffer, and I'd like a bit more than that before weekly updates become a thing again.

Oh, also, I was wondering if you guys think I should consider changing the rating to M. I don't really think its necessary yet, unless we think some of the language Yumeko has been using requires a higher rating. Hit me up with a PM, or mention in a review if you think I should change the rating or keep it the same.

Alright, my speech is done. Thanks for reading, everyone, and I hope you all have a great day and week. :)


	12. Threshold Arc: Lightning and Thunder

A/n: So, hey guys! We made it to Chapter 10, woo hoo! Honestly, when I first started posting, I wasn't ever expecting to get this far, but, well, it's here now.

Warning for a very long clothing description, which was super annoying to write but necessary for visuals (and which will never be happening again, so help me), and also for our first legit fight scenes, which were equally annoying to write. Kakashi is just...very Kakashi, and sometimes not the easiest to get a good grasp of.

Also, pun warning.

I think that's about it? More on the upcoming hiatus in the author's note below, but till then, enjoy reading everyone!

* * *

Chapter 10-Threshold Arc: Lightning and Thunder

"Another secret of the universe: Sometimes pain was like a storm that came out of nowhere. The clearest summer could end in a downpour. Could end in lightning and thunder."- Benjamin Alire Sáenz

* * *

"Hey Iruka-sensei, where'd Mizuki-sensei go?" One of the girls (Ami, I think her name was?) in our class asked suddenly, as today was the day we'd gathered to hear our team assignments, and those of us in the know went stiff. Iruka sighed, rubbing at his scar for a moment. His lack of a response caused the room to burst out into nervous chatter, and I saw him bring up his hands to form a familiar hand seal.

"Alright everyone, settle down!" Barked Iruka-sensei, his usual genjutsu that gave him a larger than normal head suddenly active. "Mizuki-sensei couldn't make it today, I'm afraid, so I'm by myself. Look, I know you're excited for your team assignments, but I'm not saying a thing till it's quiet in here." He looked startled at the sudden silence that settled in at his words, and I had to fight the urge to start giggling.

Last week, after we'd sorted out photo IDs, ninja registration and paperwork, we'd been treated to the epic story of Naruto and Iruka-sensei's defeat of Mizuki, and heard of the new jutsu that Naruto had learned during the whole crisis. He'd been busy showing off his Kage Bunshin to everyone since, and while it had been impressive at first, multiple physical copies of Naruto running around was never a good thing. I was sure he'd caused more chaos and mayhem in that week than he normally did in a month on his own. Shisui had been so proud. Neji had taken one look at the Naruto clones when he'd gotten back from his latest mission and turned tail and run, Chi-chan giggling at him the whole while. She'd been down with some virus the week he'd been gone, but was better now.

"I should use that one every time, huh," Iruka-sensei muttered, his head returning to normal size, and sorting through some of the papers on his podium as we waited. Naruto was leaning his head on his folded arms, trying to stay still, though I could just about feel him thrumming with energy. Naruto had been…subdued since he'd woken up after his battle last week, but had been valiantly attempting to hide it, and I could guess why. Learning about your status as a Jinchuuriki like that would hurt most people.

Sasuke was leaning back in his chair, arms crossed, and looking a little sullen. He'd been denied the chance to try and enter ANBU as a genin by his mother, who'd informed him he needed to reach chuunin rank before she agreed to it. Apparently, Mama had decided that if Sasuke wouldn't listen to the voice of reason, he'd have to listen to the voice of his mother.

"All right, here it is," He said, holding out a piece of paper in front of him, and suddenly everyone in the room was tense. We were all dressed in our genin outfits, our hitai-ate mostly in a place of pride across our foreheads and gleaming in the light. Sakura was absent, as she'd be beginning her apprenticeship this week, but Ino and Hinata were just some of the people who had their hitai-ate settled somewhere else, exactly like they had in the manga. I was stealing Sakura's style a bit for this one, using the hitai-ate as a headband to keep my bangs out of the way, but I had my hair in pigtails instead of just down.

I'd finally been forced to choose an outfit by Mama, and had settled on a black and grey short-sleeved hoodie, the Sarutobi clan symbol in light grey across my back. Leather bracers protected my forearms, under which were my wrist chakra weights, and under the zipped-up hoodie I was wearing a white tank top, any exposed skin protected with a long-sleeved ninja-mesh shirt the colour of my skin. I was also wearing black shorts, a peach apron-skirt that ended just above my knees, and black ninja sandals. I had bandages wrapped around my legs from my ankles to halfway up my calves to hide my leg chakra weights. My kunai pouch was strapped to my left thigh, and I had another weapons pouch on my right hip filled with senbon, seal tags and a storage scroll of my design. Lastly, I had my medic's pouch and tantou strapped across my back. Mama had lamented over my lack of colour, so I'd appeased her by picking out a red leather bracelet that seemed familiar, and by wearing one of the red scarves she'd knitted more recently, this one normal-person sized.

"Beginning today, all of you are real shinobi," Iruka began, and there was a collective groan around the room. He smirked, amused at pulling one over on us, and continued. "But you're still just rookie genin. The hard part has just started. Today, we'll be assigning you into three man teams under the care and instruction of a jounin-sensei. You will follow that sensei's instructions as you work to complete any duties assigned by the village." Pulling the paper close so he could read it, he began at the top.

"On Team 1, we have Sakamoto Erika, Harada Kazuo…" I closed my eyes and drifted, waiting till I heard my, Naruto's or Sasuke's names called. There was no way they hadn't put us on Team 7. All my plans were riding on this. I filtered out the drone of names till I heard him finish Team 6, and then I opened my eyes again.

"For Team 7, we have Sarutobi Yumeko, Uzumaki Naruto, and Uchiha Sasuke," Iruka said, and Naruto immediately leapt to his feet with a cheer.

"Yes! We did it!" He cried, beginning one of the happy dances he'd learned from Jiraiya. I had a genuine smile on my face, meeting Sasuke's eyes for a moment as we shared in Naruto's joy. At least till we were forced to make him sit back down so Iruka-sensei could finish speaking.

"Happy dance later. You know what comes next," I hissed, grabbing his sleeve and bodily yanking him back into his chair. He groaned but sat, pouting at me as I rolled my eyes. Iruka-sensei had resumed calling out the teams once Naruto settled, putting Hinata, Kiba and Shino into Team 8, and then the Ino-Shika-Cho trio into Team 10, exactly as expected.

Shikamaru and I shared a brief, satisfied smile as Kiba and Naruto began chanting and cheering in the back, both still in their seats. I finally got sick of it and yanked out a paralysis seal from my pouch, waving it threateningly in Naruto's face till he shut up. I'd gotten the idea for them years ago, when I'd first seen Jiraiya use one on Shisui, and Naruto and I had harassed him till he gave us an idea of how to make our own. They were now one of my favourite seal tags. Kiba cut off with a yelp to my left, and I turned to see him rubbing at his arm, pouting at an innocently smiling Hinata. With the reintroduced silence, Iruka finally managed to get through the last of the teams, and then looked out over the room again.

"We'll be introducing you to your jounin-sensei in the afternoon, so until then you're on break." At that, he fled the room at top speeds as everyone around us suddenly burst into excited, or sullen depending on what team assignments they'd gotten, chatter.

"Welp, that went as expected," I said, smirking, and Naruto immediately let out another excited whoop before flinging his arms around both mine and Sasuke's necks.

"We're going to be the best team ever, just you wait! We're going to prove ourselves as the strongest in the village, and then I'm going to become Hokage, dattebayo!" He shouted, yanking me and Sasuke into a tight hug. I struggled for a moment, because he was **cutting off my airways, damn it** , but was rescued by Shino.

"Naruto-kun, you should let Sasuke-kun go. Why? Because he is beginning to turn blue," Shino said, and Naruto yelped before doing so, Sasuke immediately panting for air. Naruto began apologizing at the top of his lungs, right in my ear, and I winced and stood.

"Lunch?" I asked, and there was a chorus of agreements. We trooped out of the building and made our way to our usual spot, the last time we would be using it. Nostalgia hit me at the thought as I settled in between Naruto and Sasuke, pulling out my lunch and letting the conversation wash over me as I picked through it, going for the strawberries first.

"Who do you guys think our jounin-sensei will be?" Ino asked.

"Yumeko-chan and I have our theories, but no concrete proof," Shikamaru said, shrugging.

"OK, how about, of all the jounin we know, who would you most want as your jounin instructor?" Ino continued, a mischievous grin on her face. "I'd pick Genma-san. He's laidback, likes sweets and cats, but is also secretly an assassin, so he has to be good." Everyone around me began to look contemplative.

"Genma-san is a tokujo though, Ino-chan," I said, and she frowned.

"Some of them teach genin teams, though. Weren't there a couple last year?" She asked.

"I don't know. You'd have to ask Grandpa," I said, shrugging.

"I'd want Shisui-san," Naruto immediately said, grinning. Sasuke made a noise like a cat whose tail had just been stomped on.

"No!" He shouted, glaring at his best friend as I struggled not to giggle. "Anyone but him!"

"You know, Sasuke-kun, if you did not react so much Shisui-san would probably leave you alone," Hinata pointed out, and he glowered at her.

"It's impossible," He replied, angrily popping a cherry tomato in his mouth.

"Troublesome. Maybe Asuma-san. He seems like he wouldn't make us work too much," Shikamaru said, leaning back against our tree. ' _You don't know the half of it._ '

"If we don't get a proper jounin, I'm blaming you now," Ino hissed at him, and Shikamaru sighed in response.

"I wouldn't mind Asuma-san either," Chouji added. "He always brings that really nice barbecue take-out whenever we all go over to the Sarutobi compound."

"Is it always food with you?" Ino lamented, flopping into my lap dramatically. "Yume-chan, save me from these boys." I let out a little laugh.

"Itachi-san could be good," Hinata said, taking a sip from the thermos of tea beside her. "He is well-respected, highly trained, intelligent, and one of the best shinobi in the village."

"Sounds like someone is _interested_ ," Ino sang, propping her head up on one of my knees and winking at Hinata. Hinata, who had gone red and was spluttering, looking so the opposite of her usual refined state that I found myself grinning along with Ino.

"Ooh, I think that reaction says it all," I joked.

"I do not like Itachi-san!" She insisted, narrowing her eyes at us, but Ino and I weren't buying it. Then she glanced surreptitiously at Naruto, who was too busy laughing at the way she'd spit some of her tea at a complaining Kiba to notice, and went even redder. I raised an eyebrow in surprise. Ino and I exchanged looks and grinned again. Ooh, even more fun.

"Whatever you say, Hinata-hime," I sang, and she let out a huff and went back to eating, still a little red.

"Before whatever that was," Sasuke began, waving at the three of us with a vaguely disgusted look on his face, "I was going to agree with Hinata. My big brother would be an amazing jounin-sensei."

"Unfortunately, a jounin-sensei is not allowed to be directly related to their genin. Why? Because of some archaic rule from the founding of Konoha," Shino cut in. "I would suggest Gai-san as a suitable jounin-sensei. He is capable of covering for a tracking heavy team by being the main combat member, and is also one of the top jounin in the village."

"Aww, I'll make sure to tell him you said that," I said, smiling, and Shino shot me a look that said ' _please, don't_ '. I stuck my tongue out and resolved to do it the next time Shino wasn't around. He must have been able to tell what I was thinking though, because I saw one of his eyebrows raise up from under his shades.

"If you inform Gai-san of what I said, I shall inform him that you had a crush on him when we were children," He said, pushing up his shades, and I choked.

"That's not true though!" I protested into the sudden silence, as everyone had stopped their conversations to stare at me.

"Yes, but he does not know that," He said, crossing his arms over his chest and radiating smugness.

"Cheater," I muttered, looking away and pouting. Ino sat up and looked at me pensively, and I gave her a look. "I didn't," I insisted, and she shrugged.

"Didn't say you did. I wonder what Neji-kun would say if he thought you did, though," She said, tapping her chin thoughtfully.

"Why would Neji care?" I asked, feigning confusion. Neji and I were good friends, and that was all. If I kept telling myself that, and ignoring all the hints to the contrary that everyone kept throwing at me, maybe they'd leave me alone. The silence was back again as everyone suddenly refused to meet my gaze, and I pretended to glare around the group. "Is there something you're all not telling me?"

"Nope, never," Kiba said, grinning. "I think I'd take Kurenai-san as a jounin instructor. She's really pretty." A dopey smile crossed his face as he changed the subject.

"And dating my uncle," I said, happy to go along with the new topic.

"Oh? Since when?" Ino said, perking up like a hound that had just scented blood. As our resident gossip, it was her job to know these things, and I was certain Sakura would be hearing about it when we saw her next.

"I'm not too sure, but they haven't exactly been subtle about it," I replied, shrugging. It was true though. They were constantly sneaking off together, and sometimes I'd see them out on dates when I was walking through the village for one reason or another. Besides, you could tell just from how they looked at each other.

"What about you, Yumeko-chan? Who would you pick?" Kiba asked, and I paused to think about it. To be honest, I liked most of the jounin that I'd met through Asuma. Sure, they were all rather eccentric, but the higher up in the ranks you got the more common that became. I was pretty sure that at least one level of crazy had to be attained before one could be considered a jounin. My mind came circling around back to the same name, but he was going to be my jounin instructor anyway, so I didn't want to pick him. Besides, I still hadn't figured out why my chest got all tight and concerned around him.

"Jiraiya-san," I finally said, and there was a beat of silence before there was a sudden explosion to my right.

"What?! But Yume-chan, you're constantly saying you hate the Old Pervert!" Naruto insisted, and I smiled.

"But just think about it. If he had three kids trailing along after him he'd never be able to indulge in any of his habits," I said, grinning evilly at the thought.

"Huh. You know, that's actually not a bad idea," Sasuke said, looking contemplative. "I think I'll switch my vote to harassing the old pervert too." Hinata giggled and Shino chuckled, and we moved on to discussing other topics for the rest of lunch.

As the bell rang overhead, signalling the end of lunch, we made our way back into the building. I glanced behind us at our spot once more, smiling slightly since I could just make out the little carving we'd made in our tree the day before we'd had the graduation exam. It was basically the symbol of Konohagakure, our names curving along the design, with Naruto in the center proclaiming himself as the Hokage. It had been my idea, to leave a little piece of ourselves behind for future Academy students. Naruto had added that it would be for said students to marvel at when we all became famous ninja.

Iruka-sensei was already waiting for us when we got inside, but even when we were all settled in he didn't do anything, glancing at the door occasionally as if waiting for something. Finally, a harried looking chuunin messenger came bursting in, handed Iruka a rolled-up scroll and booked it back out the door. Sensei sighed, breaking the seal, and unrolled it to look over before rolling his eyes.

"Of course," He muttered, and tossed the scroll on top of the pile of papers on his desk. "Well, I've just been…informed," he began, gritting his teeth, "that one of your instructors is going to be _very_ late. Apologies to the unfortunate team, but apparently, their excuse is 'legitimate this time'." He made air quotes at that, and there were hushed giggles among us and whispers about who the unlucky squad was going to be. I was sure I already knew.

"As for the rest of you, let's get started with Team 1's instructor," Iruka-sensei said, cutting off the chatter as he began to list off names again. As he did, said instructors came into the room and retrieved their genin, leading them off to parts unknown before he continued to the next. He skipped over our team, solidifying who the scroll had been from in my mind, and went straight to Team 8.

"Team 8, your jounin-sensei is Yuuhi Kurenai," Iruka-sensei read off, to a resulting cheer from Kiba. Kurenai entered the room with a smile on her face and dressed in her new jounin outfit, a red blouse underneath a white bandage dress patterned with red thorns, and her hitai-ate across her forehead. She'd been one of the people who took me shopping for my genin outfit, and Mama had convinced her to get the new clothes to celebrate her placement as a jounin instructor.

"Team 8, come with me," She said, and Kiba immediately scrambled over to her, grinning brightly as Hinata and Shino followed at a more sedate pace. She let out a little laugh, winking at me in the back as I grinned in response, and turned to lead them out the door.

"Team 10, your jounin-sensei is Sarutobi Asuma," Iruka continued, and there was a moment of silence from the Ino-Shika-Cho trio as my uncle entered the room, dressed in his jounin uniform, an unlit cigarette hanging from his mouth.

"Are you prophetic or something?" Ino snapped, whirling to glare at Shikamaru, who just shrugged in response.

"Hi Uncle Asuma!" I called brightly, waving at him, and he chuckled but gave me a little wave back.

"Hurry it up, Team 10. I have reservations at Yakiniku Q in twenty minutes," Asuma said, looking amused as Chouji immediately appeared in front of him, his little scarf waving a bit in the breeze he'd just created, and a giant smile on his face.

"Troublesome. Come on Ino, you know how Chouji gets about that place's barbecue," Shikamaru said, getting up and slouching his way to the front, Ino following behind him with a massive pout on her face. Asuma looked them over once, reached out and tugged on Ino's ponytail to get her to stop pouting, and turned to lead them away. Ino immediately made a shrieking noise in the back of her throat and took off after him, shouting about how my uncle had 'been doing that since she was a kid and he was going to stop immediately!'

Iruka-sensei let out a long-suffering sigh and looked up to the ceiling, as if praying for patience. He continued to read off the names of jounin instructors, with none of the other team collections quite as unique, until the only people left in the room were us and him. An hour passed, with Iruka-sensei occasionally glancing at the clock nervously, before he finally spoke up.

"Sorry you three, but I have to go. I've been drafted to cover another chuunin sensei's class while they're out sick and I have lesson plans to go over. You'll be all right by yourselves, right?" Iruka-sensei said, momentarily looking up at the clock again before turning to look at us.

"No worries, Iruka-sensei! We'll be fine!" Naruto beamed, smiling at him, and Iruka smiled briefly in response.

"Which class are you covering, Sensei?" I asked, propping my chin in my hand.

"Your brother's," He replied, shuddering, and I couldn't help my laugh.

"Ooh, then you're going to have Moegi-chan, Udon-chan and Chi-chan to worry about too," I joked, delighted beyond belief at the thought of what mayhem they'd be planning for him. Pranks were actually pretty funny, so long as I wasn't the target of them. My years of exposure to Naruto and Shisui had taught me as much.

"If they ever start to eye you like a piece of meat, run. Run far away," Sasuke offered, smirking.

"Noted," Iruka-sensei replied, looking a little overwhelmed but hastily packing all his stuff into a storage scroll and leaving through the door. I paused for a moment, considering, and then got up out of my seat and moved to sit on the desk in front of us, settling in cross-legged and facing my new boys.

"I have a bad feeling about our jounin-sensei," Sasuke sighed, leaning back in his chair, and crossing his arms again.

"Why?" Naruto asked, utterly bewildered, and Sasuke and I exchanged looks.

"You remember that friend of Gai-san's you met at my birthday? The silver-haired one that reads Jiraiya-san's books?" I said, and he nodded. "Well, do you also remember how I mentioned he's _always_ late?" I watched as the pieces clicked in Naruto's brain and he stood up abruptly, knocking his chair over in the process.

"No way! How long are we going to have to wait for him then?!" Naruto shouted, and I shrugged.

"Who knows? Could be an hour, could be several. He even sent Iruka-sensei a note, so he is either epically screwing with us or he actually does have a legitimate excuse this time," I said. It could be either with him, really, though I was leaning more towards the 'screwing with us' half.

"I don't want to wait for hours though!" Naruto wailed, and immediately flung himself at Sasuke for comfort, who had been leaning back in his chair so the resultant impact sent them both crashing to the floor. I stood up and peered over the desk to see if they were OK, fighting back the urge to laugh, to find them both sitting up. They were red faced and refusing to look at each other, and I cocked my head to one side and watched them for a bit.

"Did you hit your heads?" I asked and both immediately shook their heads in the negative. Cocking my head in the other direction, I narrowed my eyes at them. "Well, why are you so red then?"

" _I am not red!_ " They shouted at the same time, glanced over to look at each other, and then immediately looked away again, crossing their arms and frowning in synchronization. I did snicker at that and settled back down on the desk. Well, if they weren't injured then I didn't care enough to investigate further.

"What do you guys want to do while we wait?" I asked, and I could hear them both moving around but Sasuke was the first to get up, readjusting his chair and basically throwing himself into it, his arms crossed again. I raised an eyebrow as Naruto popped up too, resolutely not looking at his best friend, and marched around the desk to come sit on the lower tier with me. He hopped up and snuggled into my side like he'd done a few times when we were younger, leaving me watching him worriedly. Usually, his exuberant affection was reserved for Sasuke, my Mama, Mikoto, and Shisui.

"Do I want to know?" I finally asked after a moment of silence, and both immediately shook their heads. I let out an exasperated sigh and reached for the storage scroll in my hip pouch, unfurling the huge thing, and beginning to search for the specific seal I wanted. The nice thing about storage seals was that, if you had the room for them, you could stick as many of them on one scroll as you wanted. If their parameters were clearly defined in their specific arrays, and there was no overlap, one could theoretically fit as many storage seals on a scroll as they wanted.

"Whatcha looking for, Yume-chan?" Naruto asked, looking over the part of the scroll that had extended into his lap as I searched. He began tracing some of the seals, smiling to himself as he looked over the circular arrays I'd adopted from him.

The form of the array fuuinjutsu users used differed between them. Some said certain shapes were better for focusing chakra than others, like the belief that a square resulted in a more stable seal than a triangle. Some people believed that arrays required a certain number of points to function right, either even or odd. The Uzumaki clan had been famous for their circular and spiral arrays though, arrays that made their seals somehow more powerful than any other type out there.

Naruto and I had first discovered circular Uzumaki arrays when we'd gone exploring in the cellar of my house. I'd remembered something about Uzumaki protection seals from when I was much younger and had finally decided to try and find them after a few years of studying fuuinjutsu. Naruto and Ko-chan had tagged along and we'd found the things carved into the very foundations of the house, almost humming with power. Naruto had taken to them like a duck to water, and suddenly all his seals had received a massive boost in power. Jiraiya-san had heard about it from Grandpa and sent along some notes he'd 'just been holding on to' for us to study from about said Uzumaki arrays.

They'd been written in a neat hand, half of the notes reading like a journal, as the author experimented with Uzumaki arrays and combining them with some other seals they'd been working on. Most users of fuuinjutsu required chakra-laced ink and paper to do their seals, but this person had been working on using their chakra to simply will a seal into being on a surface. This was something that only masters of the art had been capable of accomplishing, so I'd been impressed to find experiments on the matter in the journal. They would come in handy later down the line, should I ever progress to that point of sealing mastery.

The notes had also included experiments on something that looked a lot like some manner of teleportation jutsu, but only a visit to the Hokage Archives had enabled me to figure out what they were. It was the Hiraishin, Minato's signature jutsu, and I'd realized that Jiraiya had sent us some of Minato's old notes. Why he'd held onto them for so long I could only guess at, but I'd appreciated the gesture even more once I'd realized who they belonged to, and resolved to get Naruto to learn it. It was a piece of his parents' legacy, and he deserved to have some kind of connection to them. Plus, the mere idea of a Naruto who could instantly teleport in combat, or even for pranking purposes, was too good to pass up. So far, neither of us had really had the time to go over those specific sections of the notes, but I'd try to remember to do it sooner rather than later.

"A book I sealed in here a while back," I finally replied, finding the seal in question and infusing just the right amount of chakra into it. There was a slight poof of smoke and then the book in question appeared, the seal now empty in the center where once had read the kanji for its contents.

"What is that?" Naruto asked, recoiling as he got a look at the sparkly pink cover. Sasuke straightened in his chair, peering over the desk to look at us curiously, and I smirked.

"Behold!" I said, picking up the book and holding it up over my head like Rafiki did with baby Simba in _The_ _Lion King_. "The secret to Shisui's downfall." Sasuke immediately perked up at that, staring at the book with a greater intensity, and Naruto looked confused again.

"What is a book going to do?" He asked as I rolled up my storage scroll and stuck it back into my hip pouch.

"It is what is inside the book that matters. It shall aid us on our quest to bring down the greatest of evils," I said, posing dramatically and pitching my voice to make it deeper. Naruto snickered at my antics and Sasuke smirked slightly.

"What _is_ inside?" Sasuke asked, eyeing me as I settled the sparkly monstrosity in my lap and flipped it open.

"Only a lifetime of observational notes on Shisui's behaviour. This book has everything from the time of day he normally first uses the bathroom, to his favourite restaurant to eat at on Wednesdays. It even has a copy of the first love poem that he wrote to Hana-san," I replied, and Sasuke's face seemed to be switching between curiosity and revulsion as he stared at the book.

"How did you even get all of that?" He asked, and I grinned.

"Never underestimate the power of an obsessed toddler. More specifically, an obsessed _Hyuuga_ toddler," I said, and realization hit both of their faces at once.

"Wait…you don't mean…" Naruto said, looking horrified, and I nodded.

"Yes," I said, dramatically flinging my arm across my face to cover my eyes. "I went to the only greater evil than Shisui. Chi-chan."

"So, you had Neji's little sister stalk my cousin? Why?" Sasuke asked, and I shrugged, removing my arm to look at him.

"Partly because I was bored and wanted to see if she could do it. Training only takes up so much time in a day, you know," I said. "Also, because I figured you'd appreciate it." He stilled for a moment, and then beamed at me almost as big as Naruto did on occasion. Naruto, who was currently flipping through the pages of Chi-chan's observational notes and making noises of either disgust or interest.

"Thank you," He said sincerely, and I smiled.

"No problem. What are friends for? Now, Naruto, give me that before you get any ideas."

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked, looking up and pouting.

"That when Shisui runs out of ideas he takes notes on you," Sasuke said, shooting him a look, their earlier incident apparently forgotten. Naruto pouted at us for another moment but ultimately sighed and handed me back the book. I patted it once and then handed it to Sasuke, who took it almost reverently. He immediately opened it and began flipping through, one hand reaching out for something and pausing before he looked over at us.

"Do you have something I can make notes with?" He asked, and I sighed and reached into my hip pouch to take out my storage scroll again. Just then I felt a familiar sparking signature enter my sensing range and paused.

"Yume-chan?" Naruto said, concerned, and I held up a hand to shush him. Closing my eyes and focusing, I could feel said chakra signature flickering and randomly appearing in one spot before appearing in another further away, as if the person were using Shunshin. They reached what I marked as the entrance to the Academy in my mind's eye and began a leisurely stroll in our direction.

"Incoming," I said, using the same warning I used to when we were kids and I sensed someone approaching, and my teammates immediately scrambled into action. I opened my eyes to see Sasuke toss Naruto the book, who immediately pulled out a tag that he'd been keeping _somewhere_ and sealed it away with a poof of smoke. The next thing I knew, Sasuke had propped his feet up on the desk, leaning back in his chair, and Naruto had booked it for the doorway, grabbing a chalkboard eraser as he did. He opened the sliding door slightly and then turned around to grab a chair from the front row of desks, clambering onto it and carefully sliding the eraser into place. He released it slowly but it didn't budge, and he grinned as he hopped down from the chair, placed it back where he'd found it, and bounded up the stairs to us just as I felt the chakra signature reach our classroom. Naruto had hopped up to sit on the desk that Team 8 used to occupy just as the door was sliding open, and I turned to see the magnificence in action.

There was a dull 'poof' noise as the eraser impacted onto a head of silver hair and then toppled off, landing on the floor with a thud. It had released a glorious amount of chalk dust on the first hit though, having not been cleaned in who knew how many weeks. As the white dust settled it revealed Hatake Kakashi, hair, parts of his hitai-ate, visible portions of his face and the upper portion of his mask now white. His orange book appeared to have escaped most of the damage, but he moved it away from him and carefully shook it before closing it and tucking it away in his jounin vest. A delicate eyebrow, also currently white, arched up as he looked at us, nothing but innocence on our faces.

"Hmm…my current impression, I don't like any of you!" He said cheerfully, beaming at us, and I raised an eyebrow in return.

"Why, whatever for Hatake-san? We've simply been waiting patiently for our jounin-sensei. What a tragic accident though. Will your hair survive the damage?" I said, the picture of innocence, Naruto and Sasuke snickering behind me. Ooh, he'd twitched!

"Not to worry, because I am your jounin-sensei," He replied, not faltering in his cheer for a second. I had to admit to being impressed. That chalk dust was probably itching like no tomorrow. "Now, meet me on the roof in three minutes." With that, he disappeared with a poof of smoke, his signature reappearing way above us. We briefly exchanged looks and then took off running out the door.

It took us two and a half minutes running at top speed up several flights of stairs to make it to the roof, but we did it. We were all panting a little from the exertion as Kakashi continued to beam at us, leaning against the railing surrounding the roof, dust still in place.

"Go on, sit," He said, gesturing vaguely in front of him. I settled in first on the steps, cross-legged, the two boys joining me on either side. "First, I think we should start with some introductions." We glanced between each other, both boys making faces at me like I should be the one to say something, so I sighed and spoke up.

"What would you like to know?" I asked, leaning back on my arms and looking up at him. He seemed to pause to think it over and ultimately shrugged.

"How about…your likes, dislikes…dreams for the future, hobbies, that sort of stuff." Naruto frowned at that.

"Why don't you go first, so we have an example to follow?" I offered, and he cocked his head to one side, practically radiating innocence. I was suddenly reminded of a month ago when I'd done the same to him and looked down to see his toes pointed inwards. I had to fight down the urge to giggle, bringing a hand up to cover my mouth as I felt the flicker of amusement in his chakra.

"Me? My name is Hatake Kakashi, which you know. I have no desire to tell you guys about my likes and dislikes. Dreams for the future? Hmm…Well, I have lots of hobbies," He said, and Sasuke let out an exasperated sigh beside me. I don't know why he'd been expecting more than that. Like I'd told them before, the man was eccentric. "Why don't we start with you, on the right," He continued, gesturing at Naruto, who brightened immediately.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto! My likes are cup ramen, Ichiraku ramen, my best friends, the Uchiha and Sarutobi families, and hugs! Oh, and Madoka-san's cake! My dislikes…ugh, I hate the three minutes it takes to make cup ramen. I also hate bullies and people who treat others badly for no good reason. My hobbies are fuuinjutsu, pranking and gardening. My dream is to become the next Hokage, so I can protect my friends and family and the village, so that people will acknowledge my strength, and so that I can right wrongs and stuff!" He said, smiling brightly.

"Next," Kakashi said, and I grinned at him.

"Hi! I'm Sarutobi Yumeko! I like most things, but especially my friends and family, my little brother Ko-chan, and of course strawberries. I dislike people who are willfully blind, assholes, and anyone who tries to treat Naruto badly. Oh, and perverts, can't forget those. My hobbies include training, training and more training. Reading when I get the chance. My dream is to protect people, and to realize the dreams of someone who can't anymore," I said, and Naruto and Sasuke looked at me in confusion for a moment at the last bit. Instead of answering I turned to Sasuke and gestured for him to go.

"I'm Uchiha Sasuke," He began, shooting me a look that said we were going to be discussing that 'slip' later. I thought it was past time I started revealing more of my motivations to the people around me. "I don't care about a lot of things, but I like tomatoes, training, my mother and my brother Itachi. I hate my cousin Shisui and his pranks. I also dislike perverts, but especially tall, white-haired perverts who go peeping on baths. My hobbies include being forced to spend time with my friends, avoiding affection, and training. My dream is to join ANBU and one day be acknowledged by a certain someone for my hard work."

"OK, I think that should do," Kakashi said, but his one visible eye was focused on me and his chakra told me he was curious. "We begin our work tomorrow, but first the four of us are going to do some special survival training."

"Oh, you mean the special extra genin exam?" I asked, and he paused at that, raising an eyebrow at me. "You know, Sensei, the one with a 66% failure rate?" I added, feigning confusion when he still didn't respond.

"Itachi said that only 9 of the genin who graduate go on to join the elite Jounin squads," Sasuke said. "The rest of the students get shuffled into the Genin corps or try and find higher ranked ninja who are willing to apprentice them."

"Yeah, yeah! That's why Sakura-chan decided to join the iryou-nin program, because she didn't want to join the squads and she thought that the Genin corps sounded useless. That, and Nanami-san helped apprentice her to some ANBU doctor guy," Naruto continued, beaming.

"Anyway, tomorrow you'll be graded on the training field," Kakashi said, cutting in before we could continue and completely ignoring what we'd just said. "Bring all your shinobi tools. Oh, and skip breakfast, you'll throw up." With that he bid us farewell with a two-fingered salute and poofed out of existence again. I'd been able to tell that we'd managed to overwhelm him, though. Best to give him some time to calm down and re-energize before he had to deal with us all day tomorrow.

"He didn't even react," Naruto pouted, and Sasuke shrugged.

"Were you expecting him to? He's more 'eccentric' than Gai-san," He said, frowning and looking over at me. I hummed noncommittally, staring at the spot where he'd poofed away and where there was just the lightest coating of chalk dust on the railing. "Yumeko, what was that about realizing someone else's dream?"

We'd all started dropping the honorifics on each other's names last week, after the incident with Naruto and Mizuki. I'd not used any with Shino and Neji for years, but I'd also known them since I was one and could be excused for that. Sasuke, Kiba and Naruto usually just didn't care for them, though I was still Yume-chan to Naruto. I figured it was probably fine, since we were going to be connected as a genin team for who knew how long, and the bonds forged during such time were some of the most important for a shinobi in their life. If your genin team survived, that was.

"When did you get all nosy?" I joked, standing up and brushing myself off. "I had a…friend, when I was little, who died. It was a long time ago, and I don't want to talk about it, but I promised myself I'd fulfill her dreams for her. Since she couldn't anymore." ' _That's probably enough for now, right?_ ' I shrugged nonchalantly, turned and made my way over to the exit from the roof. "Anyway, I'm going to go and ask Uncle Asuma about which training grounds Kakashi-sensei most likely meant. Are you guys coming or not?"

Both boys immediately scrambled up and followed me, and I smiled as I led the way down the stairs and back into the school building. I was glad that Sasuke didn't seem to remember who I was talking about, but he had been pretty young during Izumi's funeral, when we'd first met. ' _Sorry about calling you a friend, Izumi, but I don't want to keep lying to them about everything._ '

* * *

The Next Morning

"I still don't see why we showed up so early," Naruto said, frowning.

"Kakashi-sensei didn't tell us where or when to meet, so since we had to figure it out on our own Sasuke said we should just show up early and warm up," I replied, stretching out on the grass. We were in the middle of a clearing in Training Ground Three, the same one from the manga if the three wooden posts off to one side were any indication. Uncle Asuma had said that this was where Kakashi usually disappeared off to when he failed his genin teams, so here we were. Naruto was sitting cross-legged on one side of me and Sasuke was standing, arms crossed, on the other.

"Which we've done and he's still not here," Sasuke said, looking around suspiciously. I could feel Kakashi-sensei's chakra a few clearings over, unmoving since we'd arrived two hours ago. He was probably visiting the Memorial Stone.

"Always late, remember?" I said, stretching my arms overhead and staring up at the clear blue sky. No clouds today, so even though it was March the sun was beginning to grow merciless. "We could have another practice spar?" I suggested.

"You just cheat with your paralysis tags," Naruto pouted, and I let out a little laugh.

"It's not cheating, it's a smart tactic. If it works, it works. Besides, you have paralysis tags too, you know," I said, turning my head to look at him.

"I…forgot them," He said, reaching up to rub at the back of his neck sheepishly, and Sasuke and I both groaned in exasperation.

"At least you remembered to wear pants this time," Sasuke muttered irritably, and I raised an eyebrow as I glanced between the two of them.

"What?" I asked, completely confused but also curious about what I'd managed to miss. Naruto glared at Sasuke, who was suddenly staring in the direction of Kakashi-sensei's unexpectedly moving chakra signature.

"Quiet," He hissed, a kunai already in his hands. "I thought I heard something moving."

"Yo," Kakashi-sensei said from behind us, and we were all immediately on our feet, slipping into defensive stances and our respective weapons out. He let out an amused chuckle at the image we must have made and tucked away his orange book. "Good morning. I see you all found the place OK."

"You're late!" Naruto shouted, pointing with the hand not currently holding a shuriken, and I sighed and sheathed my tantou.

"Maa, maa, so energetic," Kakashi-sensei said, and deposited his backpack onto the ground, entirely ignoring Naruto's irritated dancing about. Crouching and rummaging through it, he finally pulled out what looked like a kitchen timer before standing and moving over to the tree stump in the clearing's center. He fiddled with it for a moment before setting it down and turning to beam at us again, dropping his reacquired pack beside the trunk as well. "This is set for noon," He continued and reached into his flak jacket, pulling out two silver bells on strings.

"Here are two bells. Your task is to take them from me before noon. Those who cannot get a bell before noon get no lunch. I'll not only tie you to one of those stumps," He said, gesturing to the wooden posts in the corner, "but I'll eat right in front of you. To pass, you only need to get one bell. If you don't, you'll fail and get sent back to the Academy." He was beaming again and I had to fight the urge to roll my eyes. ' _I know what you're up to, don't you worry._ ' "If you don't come at me with the intent to kill, you won't stand a chance."

There was quiet among the three of us at that and we looked between each other, having a silent conversation as we did so. Sasuke and I both immediately turned disapproving gazes on Naruto, who'd begun grinning mischievously.

"You're so slow you can't even dodge a blackboard eraser!" Naruto said, laughing and crossing his arms behind his head. "We'll kill you if we try that!"

"In the real world, those with no talent often bark the loudest," Kakashi said, deadpan. "Don't you worry about me. I can handle a pampered princess, a brother con and an untalented brat." We all stilled.

"Excuse me?" I asked, my 'people I really don't like' smile in place. "I'm afraid I must have misunderstood you. Care to repeat that?"

"No," He said, beaming again. "Now, when I say start, begin." I gritted my teeth, grabbing a trembling Naruto and a furious Sasuke by the arms before they could do anything stupid.

"He's just trying to rile us up, calm down," I hissed at them.

"I'll show him who's untalented," Naruto snarled.

"I do not have a brother complex!" Sasuke snapped, and I let out a long-suffering sigh. Great, now what?

"Well, it seems like you're prepared to come at me to kill now," Kakashi-sensei said, his visible eye openly delighted at our reactions. "Maybe I might actually like you guys." He stood straight then, tying the two bells to his belt, and looked over the three of us. The tension suddenly ramped up, and he spoke the three words we'd been waiting for.

"Now…ready…START!" We all moved. I settled myself on a tree branch on the edge of the clearing, shutting my eyes and reaching for the familiar signatures around me. Sensei was still in the middle of the clearing, but Sasuke was a couple of trees away from me and Naruto was crouched in the brush nearby. ' _Good, at least Naruto knows better than to charge an unknown opponent in this universe._ '

Opening my eyes again I carefully dropped down, the chakra reinforcing my body cushioning the fall. Crouching down, I made my way over to Naruto, tapping him on the back. He turned his head slightly to look at me, and I gestured for him to follow. Turning, I began to crawl through the brush to Sasuke's tree, Naruto's signature hesitating but following along after me anyway. When we got there I carefully signed for Naruto to wait, and then jumped up to land beside Sasuke. He raised an eyebrow at me questioningly.

"Come on, I have a plan," I whispered, and he nodded. We both leapt down beside Naruto, and I led us through a crawl to the next clearing over. Emerging from the brush I stood, wiping off any leaves and dirt that had clung to me as the boys stood up on either side of me.

"Why aren't we kicking that asshole's butt right now?" Naruto snapped, arms crossed over his chest and still looking angry.

"He's a jounin, but if we worked together we could take him," Sasuke said, and they locked gazes and nodded.

"Teamwork is the goal, yes, but if we just rush in then he's going to destroy us," I said, turning, and frowning at them. "There's a reason he only has two bells. If we act as a team to pass his test, I'm sure there's no way he can fail us." I needed to make this fast. I didn't think he'd give us long to plan.

"But there will be butt-kicking, right?" Naruto said, and I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, Naruto, I promise. Now, how many shadow clones can you make before you pass out?" I asked, and he paused to think it over.

"Ummm…I think a thousand?" He replied, cocking his head to one side, and I stilled. ' _Holy shit. Sometimes I forget how much chakra he actually has._ '

"That's…that's more than I need," I said, clearing my throat when the first part came out at a higher pitch than I'd intended. "Do you think you could make 60 to start? Henge 40 of them to look like me and Sasuke though." He immediately moved his hands into the requisite sign. There were suddenly poofs of smoke all around us, resulting in about 20 clones of Naruto, 20 that looked like me and 20 that looked like Sasuke.

"What's the plan?" Sasuke said, inspecting one of his clones and frowning when it pulled a face at him.

"We use these guys as a distraction force to keep Sensei busy while we sneak up on him with a paralysis tag," I said, grinning. "Once he's frozen, we grab the bells."

"Don't your tags need to be on skin to work?" Sasuke asked, and I nodded.

"That's why I was originally planning to use Naruto's seals, but _someone_ forgot them." I shot him a glare at that and he smiled at me sheepishly.

"I could try and make some now. I've got my fuuinjutsu supplies with me," He said, pulling out a storage scroll from his jacket.

"That could work. We'll send about 30 of the clones to distract sensei while you work on a couple of paralysis tags. How long will it take you?" I asked, and thirty of the clones saluted before taking off.

"Umm…for five tags, maybe ten minutes?" He said, frowning and sending chakra into the storage seal on his unfurled scroll and revealing his supplies.

"Make three in five then. I don't think the clones can buy us ten minutes." I said, and Naruto immediately winced.

"Yeah, that's-" He winced again. "Two gone already, both my clones. The clones of you guys are trying to-" Another wince, "act like you, so they're being stealthy and stuff."

"Maybe stop having your clones throw themselves at Sensei if they're going to distract you," Sasuke said, turning with a kunai palmed to watch the trees around us, guarding Naruto's back while he started to work. I closed my eyes and focused on the chakra signatures in the clearing we'd left Kakashi in, trying to gauge the flow of battle as a bunch of miniature Naruto-like suns threw themselves at the sparking signature at the center. I couldn't actually tell if the clones of myself and Sasuke weren't also participating in said battle, because all of the shadow clones felt the same to me.

"One of my clones keeps making more, so it's not like-" A yelp of pain, and my eyes shot open to see Naruto clutching at his butt with one hand, disbelief on his face and his dripping brush held over a half-finished seal tag with his other.

"What is it? What happened?" I asked, and Naruto's face immediately contorted into fury and embarrassment.

"He…HE…HE POKED MY BUTT!" He shouted, and we all froze. I struggled to not start giggling as Sasuke rolled his eyes beside me.

"Keep focused, idiot. We don't have much time," Sasuke said, and Naruto turned back to his work with a grumble, angrily drawing a cancellation seal over the one the dripping brush had messed up. We held still and kept watch for another three minutes before Naruto finished, immediately sealing up his supplies and handing the tags to me. I passed them out, one for each of us.

"Naruto, send the rest of your clones in now. You're going to go in with the Naruto clones, and when I give the signal all of them are going to dogpile sensei. You need to be in there and stick the seal on the first chance you get. If that doesn't work, my clones and the Sasuke clones are going to try and drive him to where our real selves will be hiding, and then we'll get him," I said, and there were nods from both my boys as the clones around us moved out.

We followed behind them, sneaking quietly through the underbrush until the sounds of many Narutos shouting in combination could be heard. We reached the edge of the clearing, all hiding in the brush, to chaos. Wave upon wave of Naruto clones, one standing farther back and popping out more as necessary, were throwing themselves at Kakashi-sensei, who was dismantling them one-handed, his face buried in his book. Occasionally you could hear a giggle from him as he flipped a page, smashing a Naruto's face in with a poof of smoke before kicking another one in the stomach and sending it flying.

"Ouch," I hissed as one of the clones got thrown into three others with such force that they all poofed away.

"He's good," Sasuke said, grudgingly. I nodded beside him, watching the way Kakashi-sensei seemed to move through the clone horde without even breaking a sweat, taking them all out in one strike to a vital location or with a hard-enough hit anywhere else. And he was still just reading that perverted book!

"I kind of want to burn that book now," Naruto grumbled quietly, wincing every so often as more of his clones were destroyed.

"I'll whistle when I think you're close enough with the tag, so dogpile him then, OK?" I said and Naruto nodded, quietly poofing and then disappearing a clone beside us to relay the information to the rest of his clones. He then began to inch away towards the clone still sending waves out toward Sensei, apparently not through its chakra reserve yet. While all the clones shared the bright sun of Naruto's chakra, the intensity behind his greatly outweighed the small shares of chakra the shadow clones had. It made it easy for me to keep track of him among all the similar signatures.

"Some of your clones look like they're going to join in," Sasuke said, gesturing to the southern corner of the clearing as several copies of me began to inch through the Naruto horde, looking like they were trying just a bit too hard to be stealthy. ' _Sensei is probably going to figure out they're fake after this, if he hasn't already._ '

"Some of your clones are throwing kunai at him," I replied, nodding to the western edge where kunai were indeed raining down towards Kakashi-sensei's position. At least they were staying hidden and didn't seem like shadow clones, unlike my own. Naruto had run around and entered the fray beside some newly created clones, but suddenly Kakashi-sensei was out of sight. I felt him flicker behind me and Sasuke just in time to shove Sasuke out of the way as a hand shot down to try and grab him. It ended up grabbing my arm and lifting me up instead, and I used it as leverage to swing around through the air, twisting to try and kick Kakashi-sensei's head, but he released me and I went flying into one of the trees instead.

I course corrected as best I could, bouncing off the tree with one leg and zooming back at him, my tantou out, but he was suddenly gone again, appearing at my side to grab my ankle and send me swinging out into the clearing. I flew for a moment, twisting again so that I could land on my feet, but I stumbled a step as I almost hit one of the Narutos.

"Yume-chan, you OK?" He asked and I nodded, breath coming a little hard as I closed my eyes and tried to pinpoint Kakashi again. ' _Calm down, calm down, calm down!_ '

"Sasuke, behind you!" I shouted, my eyes snapping open in time to see my other teammate throw himself from the tree he'd been in, turning in the air and flicking at top speed through several hand signs.

"Katon: Housenka!" He shouted, and suddenly he was spitting several small fireballs in the direction he'd just come from, landing on his feet among more Naruto clones, and continuing to do so till he ran out of steam. Kakashi-sensei's chakra signature had moved again though, and I yanked out a senbon and sent it speeding towards him as he appeared behind Sasuke. He deflected it with a kunai he'd pulled, one hand still on his book, but it gave Sasuke the time to Kawarimi with one of the Naruto clones and land beside me.

"Hold still!" A group of the Naruto's shouted, throwing themselves at him, and he used the kunai in his hand to mercilessly destroy them all.

"Shit. I think we need to retreat," I said, glancing over at Sasuke.

"We're running out of time. Look at the clock," He replied, pointing with one finger to the stump and the kitchen timer utterly undisturbed by the battle raging around it. I glanced over and saw we had maybe fifteen minutes left till it ran out. Where had all that time gone?!

"Naruto, hurry up!" I shouted, shaking my head in irritation and closing my eyes to focus on him again. He was in the middle of the horde but was quickly approaching Kakashi-sensei, who'd been pushed further away from Sasuke and I as the clones attempted to herd him into the center again. I felt the sparking of Kakashi's signature that meant another jutsu, and suddenly I found an arm around my middle, pinning my arms to my sides, and a sharp object pressed to my neck.

"You shouldn't just stand around in the middle of a fight. It's going to get you killed," His happy voice said from behind me, and I could feel it rumbling through my back as I went still. "Since I've already taught your teammates the taijutsu lesson and the genjutsu lesson, I guess that leaves ninjutsu for you."

"Yume-chan!" Several of the Naruto clones shouted. Sasuke had his teeth gritted, another kunai in his hands, but it wasn't like he could attack Sensei if I was being held hostage. He flashed us away again, and I felt momentarily dizzy as we were suddenly standing over the river, my teammates whirling around. Oh Kami, since when had side along Shunshin felt so horrible?

"Now, should I teach you about water ninjutsu, or earth? Hmm…decisions, decisions," Kakashi-sensei said, his tone cheery even though I couldn't see his face, and I ground my teeth in irritation. ' _Come on, stall! Think of something!_ '

" _Water_ you waiting for, sensei?" I joked, already feeling embarrassed at myself for what I was about to do. There was silence. I just needed a moment of inattention on his part to prime the paralysis tag I had in my hand, though. "Afraid someone might _rain_ on your parade? Did your _well_ of ideas dry up? Maybe you should stop hinting at things in _streams_ and _runoffs_." There was a choking noise from Sasuke across the way, and Naruto looked like he was struggling not to start laughing. Sensei's chakra signature was partially amused, but mostly confused.

"What?" Came his deadpan over my head, and I grinned brightly. **Now!** I suddenly twisted my wrist and attached the primed paralysis tag to his form. He froze up, the kunai cutting into my neck a little as his muscles all tensed up from the effects of the seal, and I winced. Suddenly, we were falling into the river, and I took a startled breath just before we were completely submerged. ' _ **Cold, cold, cold!**_ '

Sensei's arm was momentarily limp, as the water destroyed the tag I had on him and feeling suddenly rushed back into his body, so I shoved it away and blindly reached for his left hip. I immediately felt the small form of the bells with my fingertips, and yanked them free before pushing myself away and to the surface. I came up with a gasp, and to the jubilant cry of Naruto from the bank. I turned to see both him and Sasuke there, Naruto crouched down with a hand out, and I swam over and let him pull me out. I felt the abrupt flicker of Kakashi's chakra, and suddenly he was standing behind us, sopping wet. I'd have felt guiltier if he didn't look quite so impressed.

"Yume-chan, you're bleeding!" Naruto cried, his hand reaching out to hover in front of the wound on my neck, and I reached up a hand with a sigh.

"I know, I know. Relax, I'll heal it in a second," I said, reaching further up with my hand to rub at the pain that had started up between my eyes. I usually had my chakra sense running in the background, as it wasn't something I'd ever experimented with trying to turn off, but focusing with it so much tended to give me a headache. Naruto looked more concerned than Sasuke did, but I could feel their chakra flickering in similar patterns so I knew it was just because Sasuke was being his usual broody self.

"Well, you have the bells now," Kakashi said, and the boys both whirled around to stare at him, as if they'd only just noticed he was there. Naruto immediately began grinning, but Sasuke clapped his hand over his mouth with a warning look before he could speak. Where before there had been a slightly impressed look, now there was a lack of any kind of expression on what little of his face I could see. There was something like surprise flickering in his chakra, and I winced as the spot between my eyes twinged again and shut them. "Which of you two are going to pass? Your decision, Yumeko-chan."

"Sasuke, you and Naruto should keep them," I said, still rubbing at my forehead. "I'll just…I'll just apprentice myself to Nanami-sensei. I'll be fine." ' _Come on, remember that I mentioned teamwork earlier._ '

"No, you and Naruto can take them. I'll just talk Mother into letting me into ANBU early," Sasuke said, and Naruto made an offended noise.

"No way! You and Yume-chan can take the bells!" He said. "I'll harass the Old Pervert intro training me so that next year I can definitely pass!"

"Please, don't," I begged, opening my eyes with a smile on my face. I tossed them both the bells before I carefully flicked through the hands signs for the Shousen jutsu and brought the blue light to my neck, concentrating and knitting the skin back together. Naruto made a startled noise, snatching his bell out of the air, but Sasuke just caught it and stuffed it into my hip pouch. I snorted and then carefully pressed my finger to my forehead, releasing some of the tension that had built up.

"You don't need to be spending more time with the pervert," Sasuke agreed, nodding solemnly. "I'll be fine on my own." I frowned at him, quirking an eyebrow as Naruto immediately began insisting that we should take the bells instead, attempting to shove his at Sasuke. Kakashi-sensei's amused chuckle stopped them before they could really get going though, for which I was thankful.

"Well, I guess that means that you all pass!" He said brightly, and we all turned our gazes to him. "The purpose of this test was to see if you could put aside your individual interests and work together as a team. It was the only way that you had a chance of getting the bells. You had to see underneath the underneath, like a ninja should."

"Oh good, I was right then," I said, beaming at him. "I figured that the two bells were a ruse to get us to fight amongst each other. That would decrease our chances of getting them, thus allowing you to fail us." Also, future knowledge.

"Oh, is that why he had only two? I thought he was hiding the third one or something," Naruto said, laughing and crossing his arms behind his head. Sasuke rolled his eyes and flicked his forehead, causing Naruto to pout and try to tackle him. Sasuke dodged easily, used to Naruto's antics at this point, as I watched them tiredly.

"Sensei, why is the point of your test teamwork?" I asked, and he looked over at me seriously. I suddenly noticed that he was dry again, and slowly raised an eyebrow. I hadn't even felt his chakra flicker through a jutsu, how had he done that?

"Superior individual ability is important to a ninja," He began, and I could feel the sharp glint of pain and sadness in his chakra, "but we complete our missions in teams. Teamwork is essential to everything Konoha stands for. Disrupting the team can put your comrades in danger, even getting them killed. Come with me for a moment." At that, he turned to head in the direction of the Memorial Stone clearing. We trailed along after him, and when we emerged from the forest to the sight of the large, solid black stone standing in the middle of the clearing I felt the regret hit Kakashi-sensei.

"Is that the…" Sasuke said, and I nodded.

"What? What is it?" Naruto asked, looking between us in confusion.

"The numerous names carved on this stone are all shinobi who are recognized as heroes by the village," Kakashi-sensei said, moving over to stand by the stone and gently resting a hand on its smooth surface. It was in the shape of a kunai, its four surfaces absolutely covered in row upon row of writing. I saw Naruto begin to brighten and open his mouth in the corner of my eye and I moved a hand to cover it.

"Let him finish," I said quietly, and he paused but nodded.

"This is the Konoha Memorial Stone," Sensei continued, turning to face us. "All the names carved on it are heroes who have died in the line of duty." He flicked a brief glance back at it and then when he looked at us again his eye was curved closed. "Some of my best friends' names are carved on here. People say that those who break the rules and codes of the ninja world should be called trash, but I think that those who don't take care of their comrades are worse than trash."

The three of us exchanged looks at that, suddenly all solemn. I knew that Minato's, Kushina's, Grandma's and Obito's names were all on there. Even though Grandma had been retired, I vaguely remembered attending the ceremony where her name had been carved onto the stone after the Kyuubi attack. Hers had been one of dozens of names carved onto it that day, and it had left me feeling depressed for weeks after.

"OK! Starting tomorrow, Team 7 begins taking missions," Kakashi-sensei said, doing a complete about face and going back to being cheerful, shooting us all a thumbs-up. "We'll meet here in the morning for training first, so don't be late."

' _Hypocrite._ **'** I narrowed my eyes at him as Naruto let out a relieved laugh and Sasuke let out a snort. The next thing I knew, Naruto had wrapped both me and Sasuke in a tight hug again, and I patted him soothingly on the back as he started shouting about us finally being ninja now. I was getting him and Sasuke wet though, if the offended noise my Uchiha teammate made and the look he was giving me over Naruto's shoulder was any indication.

"Come on Sensei, join the hug," I joked, extending an arm out to him, and he beamed at me happily.

"No thanks," He replied, and disappeared in a poof of smoke just as Naruto was turning around to hug him too.

"Aww, he got away," He said, pouting, and I let out a laugh.

"We've got all the time in the world now," I said, looking up at the sky and smiling faintly. ' _Well, some time anyways. I swear Izumi, I'm going to protect these people and this village from everything that's coming our way._ '

"Eww, Yume-chan, you're all wet!" Naruto whined, apparently only just noticing, and I let out an exasperated sigh. I whirled around to walk away, being trailed by a faintly amused Sasuke and a once again shouting Naruto. We could clean up at my house.

* * *

A/N (continued): So, it always confused me that the Memorial Stone would just be located in the middle of a training ground for genin, so we've moved it away from the main training area in this universe. Also, yes, puns. I am ashamed of myself already.

The fuuinjutsu stuff does borrow both from canon and other fanfic sources, so if anything seems familiar, that is why.

The planned hiatus is still happening, but I might still be posting another chapter next week? It's a maybe, but probably a yes. It depends on how much studying I can get done this weekend, and whether or not I can finally complete Chapter 15. It's got a fight scene, so I am of course dreading it.

Oh, as always, thanks to both my reviewers and guest reviewers! You guys are all great, and I love hearing from you. If you've got more to say, whether you liked what I am doing or not, definitely let me know through a review. They always bring a smile to my face.

Anyways, that's about it. It is technically not Thursday here anymore, but it's still Thursday in other places in the world, so this counts! I hope you all have a great week! :)


	13. Threshold Arc: Easy Days

A/N: So, yes, an update! Yay! Update in two weeks, not next week, because I still have things to work on. I think that's about it, and if I have anything else I want to add, I will update the author's note tomorrow. Have a great week guys, and thanks again for reading. If you've got something to say about the chapter, either negative or positive, definitely leave a review, and let me know what you guys thought!

* * *

Chapter 11-Threshold Arc: Easy Days

"Just this once, let it be easy."- Cynthia Lord

* * *

The light wind rustling the leaves of the trees in the clearing was the only sound around as I crouched in front of the Memorial Stone. The stream that cut Training Ground 3 in half was further away, so its soothing burble was absent as I cocked my head to one side and stared at the list of names on the side facing me. Reaching out a hand, I carefully traced over the carved kanji of a name in front of me. ' _ **Uchiha Obito**_ _. You're not really dead, though. What are you up to right now, I wonder?_ '

I stood, brushing my skirt off as I sensed an approaching chakra signature at the edges of my range. I pulled out my storage scroll, rapidly finding the seal I'd set in last night at the very beginning of the paper. I pulsed the correct level of chakra into it, and with a poof a bouquet of white lilies appeared and I caught them with my free hand. I rolled it back up with the other and carefully set the lilies down in front of the stone, closing my eyes as I stuck the scroll back in my hip pouch. I bowed at a perfect 90-degree angle, my hands clasped in front of me, before I straightened up, opened my eyes, and turned to head back into the clearing where we'd held the Bell Test yesterday.

I could feel the surprised spark of the lightning-based chakra signature that belonged to Kakashi-sensei as I passed by its hiding spot in the trees, but didn't pay it any attention. Let him think what he wanted of my visit and the flowers. I couldn't visit the Uchiha cemetery where Izumi was buried without making myself look suspicious, so the Memorial Stone it was. I was glad that I'd bought waterproof pouches for all my things, otherwise that storage scroll I'd been working on for the past couple of years would have been utterly ruined after my dip in the river yesterday.

"Yume-chan, there you are!" Naruto called out, grinning and waving at me as I emerged from the trees. He and Sasuke were sitting by the stump from yesterday. Well, Naruto was sitting. Sasuke was standing, arms crossed and back turned to us, gazing over the stream and seeming pensive.

"Morning. I thought we were meeting up at 8 am?" I said, glancing up at the sky as I moved to stand in front of Naruto. In the Academy, one of the first things that they'd taught us when we were doing survival training was how to pinpoint the general time of day based on the position of the sun in the sky. Even when it was cloudy out, you could figure something like that out based on what little light still existed and any shadows on the ground. From my calculations, the boys were probably about half an hour early. I'd been here since around 7, having decided to visit the Memorial Stone and spend some time speaking to Izumi. Plus, I'd needed a little more time to recuperate after yesterday.

When I'd gotten home it had been to Grandpa and Dad already there, and I'd been whisked off to our private training grounds in the back so that I could sign the Monkey Summoning Contract. I'd been ecstatic to add my name to the bottom of the list on the scroll, right below Dad's. I'd pressed in a thumb imprint consisting of my own blood, and the scroll had flared white in acceptance of the new summoner. Grandpa had had to leave right after, as he still had to deal with his remaining Hokage business, but Dad and I had worked on summoning till late in the evening.

* * *

"Remember Yume, you need to concentrate. Focus on your bond with the summons, what you want to accomplish, and let the chakra flow into that connection," Dad coached, his voice soothing, and I gritted my teeth in concentration. Closing my eyes and reaching for the familiar feeling of slow-flowing lava that was my chakra, I focused on the new connection that I'd felt open in the back of my mind when the contract had flared white. ' _I want to summon a monkey._ _ **Just one**_ _. Come on, I've been at this for hours!_ '

I fed a giant wave of my chakra into the connection, trying to push more in than I had before to get something, anything, to happen. Focusing angrily on the thought of **just one monkey, just one** , I let loose with three quarters of my remaining reserves before I suddenly felt something click. Not breaking my concentration but cutting off the chakra supply to the connection, I pricked my thumb before quickly flipping through the hand signs and slamming my hands into the ground.

"Well, aren't you a young one," A high-pitched voice said, and my eyes popped open to see smoke clearing and an old macaque, its fur a light silvery white, its red face wrinkled and little glasses perched upon its nose as it squinted at me. It was the same height as me, and was dressed in formal robes. Its inner kimono was white, but the outer was a dark green, complimented by dark grey hakama and a grey haori overtop. No socks or formal sandals though, as when I glanced down I could see ten little toes wiggling around, an opposable thumb on each foot making them look like exact copies of the monkey's hands.

"Ah, Scroll Keeper Enri. A pleasure," Dad said, bowing, and the old macaque smiled a touch.

"Little Ichigo-chan. It is good to see you again," The macaque, Enri, said. He turned his eyes back to me, and even though I was exhausted and sweaty and panting for breath there seemed to be approval in his eyes. "You would be our new summoner then. It is not often that I am the first to be summoned by a beginner. Interesting."

"I'm Sarutobi Yumeko. Thank you for allowing me to join your contract as a summoner," I said, bowing formally and trying to get my breathing back under control. The macaque chuckled and I heard it moving over before I felt a hand rest on my head.

"I sense power in you, child. It shall be interesting to see where you progress. If you have need of me, simply focus your attention on my name when you are summoning and I will answer." Then there was a poofing noise and I glanced up to see that he'd disappeared.

* * *

"Yume-chan? Yumeko-chan?!" Suddenly Naruto was in my face and shouting and I leapt back in surprise, my hand going to my tantou before I realized what I was doing.

"I…sorry, what?" I asked, shaking my head and releasing the tantou's hilt. Sasuke snorted from his position beside Naruto, who was still looking concerned.

"You were staring off into the distance and not responding. Naruto assumed you'd went into a standing coma," He said, his arms still crossed over his chest.

"You didn't have any better suggestions!" Naruto snapped, scowling at us both, and I smiled at him reassuringly. ' _But…I swear I tend to drift off like that a lot. What was so worrisome about this time?_ '

"Sorry, guess I'm still tired. What were you saying?" Naruto huffed but took a step back and settled back onto the stump.

"I said that Shisui-san and big bro Itachi woke us up early to tell us that they were leaving on another mission," Naruto said.

"They've been gone a lot lately," I replied, frowning, and Sasuke sighed.

"Big brother says not to worry about him, but we think it's because he got marked as an A-rank threat in Kumo's bingo book a couple of months ago. Since then, Iwa and Kiri have done the same." I raised an eyebrow, as this was news to me. I supposed that he wasn't considered an S-rank threat because the Uchiha Massacre had never happened, and because he didn't end up joining Akatsuki and doing a bunch of other stuff. All the same, he was still a good jounin, one of the village's best.

"Yeah, but he and Shisui-san are listed as an S-rank threat when they're together," Naruto added, crossing his arms behind his head and leaning back to look at the sky.

"How did you guys find that out?" I asked, confused, and they exchanged looks.

"Ino told us, when we asked. Her mom always has the latest copies of the bingo books," Naruto said. It made sense. None of us had yet managed to guess what position Ino's mom held in the ranks, other than that she was strong enough to be jounin ranked. My theory was that she was in ANBU, but I didn't have any proof just yet.

"This is their fifth long-term mission in the past month," Sasuke said, and if I didn't know him any better I would have sworn it sounded like he was whining.

"Well, maybe a spar will help take your mind off things," I suggested, and they both perked up.

" _No paralysis tags!_ " They shouted at the same time, and I giggled.

"All right, I'll agree to that. Means Naruto can't use his either," Naruto deflated slightly at that as Sasuke smirked.

"Good. I was getting sick of him sneaking up and trying to stick them on everything," He said.

"Same rules as usual then?" I asked, taking a couple of steps back and sliding into a defensive stance. The boys mirrored me, moving away until we made up the three points of a triangle, slipping into their own stances. They both nodded, and I grinned.

"On my count," Naruto said, holding up a hand with three fingers raised. "Three…two…one…GO!" He shouted, immediately snapping his fingers into the seal for his shadow clones as I turned and booked it into the forest, Sasuke shouting the name of a ninjutsu as I felt his chakra flare with its usage. Flashing up into a tree, I bounced to another sapling several trees over before settling onto a branch and yanking out my storage scroll. I could hear multiple Narutos shouting and an explosion as something went off, but I was focused on finding a specific seal. It took me a moment longer than I would have liked, as I sensed the real Naruto begin to move into the trees in search of me, but it finally appeared about halfway through the paper.

I quietly bounced three more trees away as I sensed the combat begin to move into the woods near my position, Sasuke giving chase once he'd managed to destroy most of the clones, and pulsed some of my chakra into the storage seal. A vial of black powder appeared with a gentle poof of smoke, and I hastily rolled up the scroll and stuck the vial between my teeth as I heard shouting below. I stuck the scroll in my pouch and grabbed the vial with my free hand just as Sasuke appeared in front of me, his fist shooting straight for my face. I quickly shifted just enough out of the way for him to miss me, the whoosh of the air being displaced blowing across my face, and I leapt backwards as Naruto came jumping up into sight.

I flung a brace of senbon at them with my free hand to keep my teammates back as I uncorked the vial with my teeth and spat the cork with unerring accuracy at Naruto's forehead. It was tiny, but he yelped in surprise as it smacked into the spot between his eyes as he tried to dodge the senbon. It looked like they'd decided to team up for the time being.

Sasuke came out of nowhere then, flinging several kunai at me as I flipped and dodged from branch to branch to shake them from my tail. I'd corked the vial with my thumb, so as not to worry about its contents spilling out. I felt the flicker of Naruto's chakra in a jutsu, and the sudden appearance of several weaker copies of his chakra signature heralded his summoning of more Kage Bunshin. I flung myself into the clearing, landing on my feet, and as I whirled around I hastily poured the contents of the vial into my mouth, wincing at the foul taste. As Sasuke and several Narutos came streaming after me I flashed through the often-practiced hand signs before pursing my lips and spewing forth the gunpowder in the form of a smokescreen.

"Katon: Haisekishou," I breathed, and immediately ducked down as one of the Narutos came flying overhead with a kick, having aimed for where they'd last seen me. Some of the clones began calling back and forth, occasionally coughing in the sudden cloud of ash that had spread to engulf the clearing. I hadn't progressed to the point that made this jutsu B-ranked, specifically the exploding portion of it. The best Sarutobi jounin could not only form the ash with their chakra alone, but ignite said cloud with just a flare of chakra. Uncle Asuma usually used a piece of tinder to ignite the explosion, his belief being that it was a waste of chakra to infuse so much into the ash cloud to keep it up long enough to explode. I still did the infusing bit, because it was easier for me to keep up that way, but I hadn't yet figured out how to make it explode on command. I could still sense people in it though, so infusing my limbs with enough chakra to keep me silent and stealthy, I supressed the rest and went hunting.

"Damn it, get out of the smoke!" Sasuke called, coughing as he inhaled some of the ash, and I felt the brief pulse of his chakra to my left. I darted in that direction, utterly silent, and shot forward into a side kick as I felt Sasuke begin to move upwards through the smoke. I caught one of his knees and sent him flipping through the air, pursuing below with my hands already flashing through another set of hand signs.

"Doton: Doryuuheki!" I said, and as I completed the incantation I slammed a foot down into the ground, resulting in a stone wall shooting up just in front of me. It wasn't particularly tall, but I didn't need it to be as I jumped straight up and used it as a jumping point to come at Sasuke in a downwards kick. He'd landed at this point, back into the smoke, and dodged out of the way just as my foot slammed into the grass where he'd been a moment ago.

"Katon-" He began, and I grabbed and flung several senbon at him before he got the chance to finish, my body going cold at the thought of what could have just happened.

"Do you want to blow us up?" I shouted into the smokescreen, irritated with myself for not mentioning the drawbacks of this jutsu to my teammates earlier. I'd only started working on it with Uncle Asuma a week before we'd graduated though, so I'd not had the chance to use it in combat yet. Plus, the damn thing was really chakra consuming, so I didn't see much use in keeping it up for long periods in battle. It was good enough for spars for the time being, but even with my reserves extended from the chakra coil expansion exercises I'd done over the years, this was probably never going to be a go-to jutsu for me.

"What?!" Came the yelp of several Narutos, and I just barely dodged as Sasuke flung one of his fuma shuriken at me instead. I felt the touch of the chakra-laced ninja wire against my arm just in time to fling myself to the ground, the shuriken swinging back around as if it would have wrapped me in the wire trailing from its back.

"The smoke is chakra enhanced gunpowder, so no fire!" I shouted, scrambling to my feet and jumping straight up as I sensed Sasuke rapidly moving in my direction. I emerged from the cloud to see it had begun to disperse at the edges, and looked down to see Sasuke come flying up towards me. I course corrected as best I could as he came shooting up at me, blocking his fist but not able to prevent the impact as our bodies collided and we were sent soaring through the air again. There was a rapid exchange of blows on both of our parts, neither seeming to gain the upper hand as we approached the cloud again, and I felt a sudden blast of wind beneath us. Next thing I knew the cloud was gone, we had hit the ground, and the Narutos were standing in a circle together, apparently having used one of his wind ninjutsu to clear the smoke away.

"Next time, a little warning would be nice!" The Narutos shouted, turning to glare at me as I shoved Sasuke off and flipped to my feet, a kunai waiting in one hand and a storage tag in the other. Sasuke mirrored me, except he had his fuma shuriken out and no seal. Not willing to see what he was planning now that the fire hazard had cleared, I pulsed my chakra into the storage seal and a thick stream of mud came bursting out at top speed, smashing into a startled Sasuke and several of the Narutos and carrying them across the clearing. I'd gone and filled a couple of storage tags with mud after one of my ninjutsu training sessions with Mama. It never hurt to have extra tricks up your sleeves.

I flashed through more hand signs, judging that I'd managed to bring myself down to almost a third of my reserves after the effort required to get the Haisekishou to stay up, plus the earth wall, and murmured an incantation as I felt myself begin to sink into the ground. ' _Ah, the usefulness of an earth affinity_.' I waited as I felt the signatures of Sasuke and the original Naruto step out of what I assumed was the stream based on the splashes I'd heard before I sunk down.

"Aww, where'd she go?" I heard Naruto say, and slowly began to sink a little further before I began inching my way towards the two signatures, my meager control of air bringing only just enough oxygen to keep me going. I needed to practice that part of this jutsu. And I needed to work on the part that let me get through rock, as I was forced to dodge around another stone in my way.

"Keep an eye out. She could have gone back into the forest to prepare something else," Sasuke's voice said, coming from a few feet in front of me and about ten feet overhead.' _Not exactly. I'm really going to have to share the new jutsu I learned with my teammates after this._ 'It was their fault, really. When they'd banned paralysis tags I'd been forced to get creative. I moved upward through the dirt, suppressing my chakra signature till it was the barest hum in the background, before I felt Sasuke right above me. With a grin, I reinforced my arms with more chakra before suddenly reaching up and grabbing at him. I felt myself latch onto two wrapped ankles and immediately yanked down, dodging out of the way as a body was pulled down with me, Naruto shouting in surprise overhead.

"Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu," I said, completing the incantation as I popped my head out of the ground to grin at a furious Sasuke, who also only had his head above the ground.

"Oh man, Yume-chan, what was that!?" Naruto asked, crouching down to inspect Sasuke as I pulled myself out of the ground, totally forgetting our spar in lieu of a 'cool, new jutsu'. I yanked out a knockout tag and slapped it to his cheek instead, causing his eyes to roll into the back of his head and for him to fall over backwards.

"All right, you win," Sasuke sighed, switching his glare to his suddenly snoring teammate as I snickered overhead. "That brings the score to 5 wins for me, 4 for Naruto, and 6 for you." I shrugged, flipping through the hand signs for the 'Doton: Moguragakure' jutsu one more time and sticking my hand into the dirt to grab Sasuke's collar and fish him out. He came away easily, as I'd pulsed my chakra into the dirt to make it soft again, and he huffed and began to brush himself off as I let him go.

We'd begun doing practice spars like these the week we'd been waiting for team assignments. It had been Sasuke's idea, as it was a good way to learn each other's fighting styles before we were placed on a team together and forced to come up with a way to work them together. Sasuke pulled off one of his ninja sandals and shook it to dislodge whatever dirt had managed to worm its way in when I'd yanked him belowground. I was starting to run very low on chakra, and was very much so regretting my decision to start off with a B-ranked jutsu.

"Wakey, wakey, sleepyhead," I joked, deactivating the spent knockout tag as I crouched beside Naruto.

"Ugh…not fair," Naruto groaned, stirring only enough to rub at his face with one hand before he stretched out again, apparently content to just lie there for the next while.

"You guys said no paralysis tags. I had to come up with something else appropriate to replace them," I replied, smiling tiredly. "I've been waiting to experiment with these knockout tags since we came up with them, so I'm glad they worked right."

"Weren't you going to test them on a cat first, though?" Naruto asked, cracking one eye open blearily. Maybe they were a bit too powerful, though?

"I would never!" I said, faking offense as I shot back to my feet. "They'd hate me even more if I even thought about it." Naruto and Sasuke both chuckled at that, Sasuke settling cross-legged beside Naruto as he'd finally finished cleaning himself off.

"I think we may need to-" Naruto paused to yawn. "Adjust the formula a bit. I'm suddenly exhausted, and I definitely didn't use _that much_ chakra." I echoed his yawn, reaching up a hand to cover it.

"Mmm, yeah, probably," I mumbled, pulling out the three remaining tags we'd made in the first round of experiments that had worked. With most seals a dud would explode, indicating that you'd messed up on some aspect of the parameters or array in some way. That was why cancellation seals existed, to deal with duds in case you were worried the explosion might be too powerful. Others just plain didn't work if you didn't set them up properly, but this kind had been the exploding type.

"They could still be useful for transporting prisoners," Sasuke offered as I pulled out my storage scroll and unfurled it on the ground, looking for the seal that had my fuuinjutsu supplies. "Just no more experimenting on allies."

"No problem. Once was enough to see that we should fix them," I replied, finding the seal and pushing in the right amount of chakra to poof my supplies into existence again. I moved the wooden box filled with fresh paper tags, bottles filled with chakra enhanced ink, a towel and my brushes onto the grass before rolling my scroll back up again and putting it away. "Naruto, maybe we should change the spiral array for these ones?" I offered, and Naruto sat up with a sleepy grumble as we began to work through the problem of fixing the seals without causing too many explosions. Sasuke moved off to run through some katas to cool down, and we spent a pleasant two hours like that, taking a break to eat a quick snack as we waited for Kakashi-sensei to make his appearance. My chakra reserves slowly ticked back up as we rested, till I was at about half full again.

"I know I'm not an expert, but should there be that many explosions?" Sasuke asked, deadpan as he hauled me and Naruto away just in time before another failed experimental seal went off with a light boom.

"The explosion was much smaller that time. It means we're probably getting close," I replied, as Naruto began muttering to himself about 'have the final swirl be left this time'.

"Getting close to what?" Kakashi-sensei's voice asked from overhead, as Sasuke had yanked us backwards in such a manner that we'd made a little pile on the floor, both me and Naruto half on top of him.

"You're late!" Naruto shouted, pointing an accusatory finger up at Sensei as I rolled off Sasuke and popped to my feet.

"Good afternoon, Kakashi-sensei. Such a pleasure to finally be graced by your presence," I said, smiling, sarcasm dripping as I gave him a little formal bow. He chuckled and reached out to ruffle my hair, which I immediately attempted to dodge but he was still faster than me. I pouted as I reached up to smooth out my hair, readjusting my pigtails in the process.

"Sorry I'm late, a black cat crossed my path and I had to go the long way around," He said, and we all paused for a moment to take that in.

"Liar!" Naruto burst out, jumping to his feet and beginning to hop angrily from foot to foot. Sasuke rolled his eyes and flipped to his feet as well, brushing himself off once more.

"Maa, maa, so noisy," Sensei said, unconcernedly flapping a hand in Naruto's direction, but his eye was taking in the fuuinjutsu supplies we still had out and all the little black spots and holes in the ground where there hadn't been any yesterday. "I see you've been busy while you were waiting for me though. Playing with explosive tags isn't safe, you know."

"We weren't playing!" Naruto snapped, looking affronted and crossing his arms over his chest. "We were trying to fix a seal design."

"It's a knockout tag Naruto and I came up with. It's too powerful though, leaving anyone affected by it feeling nauseous and groggy for an hour after it's let up. We need something that doesn't have such intense side effects," I explained, bending over and beginning to clean up my supplies. I was using Naruto as the baseline experience for that, and considering he had his Jinchuuriki healing factor it was highly likely the effects would have been way worse for anyone else I'd used the tag on. It was a good thing I hadn't used it on Sasuke.

"Could I look it over?" Kakashi asked, and I paused, flicking a glance to Naruto. He was still frowning, but after a second he relented and nodded. I scooped up one of the original tags we'd not blown up and handed it to Sensei. He inspected it for a moment, curiously, before he pointed out a problem with one of the parameters in the upper corner of the array.

"This is set to affect too many portions of the brain," He said, and handed it back to me. I frowned and looked over that section, realizing with a start that he was right. It would mitigate some of the side effects if we changed it, but the problem lay with what we could change it to.

"We're going to need to do more research," I announced, handing the tag over to Naruto as he groaned.

"Do we have to?" He whined, inspecting the affected portion of the seal and scowling as he recognized the same problem Kakashi-sensei had pointed out.

"Training first. Research later," Sasuke ordered, snatching the tag from Naruto and tucking it into my hip pouch before either of us could protest. Kakashi-sensei chuckled in amusement as Naruto and I suddenly turned dangerous looks on our teammate, who looked entirely unrepentant for interrupting our inspection.

"All right kids, calm down," Sensei began, landing a hand on both mine and Naruto's heads and leaning on us slightly. I struggled to escape for a moment, but he leaned more of his weight on me till I stopped. "I've got plans for training for today, but first I want to check something. The notes I got from your Academy sensei stated that, of the three of you, Yumeko-chan has the best chakra control. Is that right?" When it looked like we were no longer going to jump Sasuke, he removed his hands.

"Yeah. Sasuke's right behind her, Sakura-chan was even better, and I'm not all that great at it," Naruto answered, reaching up to rub at the back of his neck sheepishly. I crouched down to finish packing up as Sensei paused, considering.

"I know the tree climbing exercise, if that makes a difference," I said, pulling out my storage scroll and resealing my stuff before I stood back up.

"Water walking as well?" Sensei asked, and I shook my head.

"I only started that three days ago. I mostly focused on the subtler chakra control exercises, like folding up delicate rice paper into increasingly complicated origami designs, being able to manipulate grains of sand individually, that kind of thing. The only reason my tutor, Nanami-sensei, let me learn tree climbing was because it was useful for chakra coil expansion exercises," I said, and Naruto and Sasuke simultaneously frowned at me.

"Coil expansion?" they said at the same time, and exchanged frowns at each other this time. I smiled a little at their reactions.

"Chakra coil expansion is a common practice among certain clans with summoning contracts. They start children with exercises to use up their chakra every day to allow their coils to expand bit by bit, ultimately allowing for a greater pool of chakra for them to use when they get older. I started when I was ten, but you can start as early as eight. The coil expansion only works up to a certain point though, because everyone has a limit to how much chakra their body can hold. That amount naturally increases as you grow, but coil expansion allows you to increase it to about 30-50% more," I explained.

"Sounds useful," Sasuke grunted, looking contemplative.

"I think the Uchiha clan already does it with their children," I pointed out. "It's part of the reason all of you start work on your fire ninjutsu so early. It allows for an increased and organic expansion of your coils over time, as you progress to increasingly difficult ninjutsu. I'm pretty sure that all clans with their own ninjutsu techniques have incorporated coil expansion into their regimens for their children in some way or another."

"It's also seriously dangerous," Kakashi-sensei said, beaming at the three of us as we turned our gazes on him again. "The possibility of suffering permanent damage to your coils increases as you get older, so you need to be carefully supervised the entire time you're doing it."

"Did you do it when you were younger, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked, and he nodded.

"But that's enough about me, time to get to work now!" He said, clapping his hands together and still beaming. ' _That was almost nothing at all!_ ' "Yumeko-chan, would you like to help me demonstrate tree climbing to the boys?"

"Umm, sure?" I said, confused. I was sure Team 7 hadn't learned tree climbing until they got to the Land of Waves, but I wasn't going to complain about starting it early. Naruto could use the help with chakra control if nothing else.

"Great!" Kakashi-sensei said, and suddenly he was behind me and ushering me forward towards three of the larger trees on the edge of the clearing. The boys trailed behind us as I tried to break free of the grip on my shoulders.

"I can walk by myself!" I hissed, and Kakashi-sensei chuckled as he manhandled me over to the largest tree.

"My genin are just so uncute," He said, pleased at my reaction, and waved a hand at the tree as if for me to get on with it. I glared at him for a moment before turning to face the tree in question.

"I'm plenty cute, old man," I said, flipping one pigtail over my shoulder imperiously like Ino did with her own hair, on occasion, before calmly walking over and channeling chakra to the soles of my feet as I began to walk vertically up the tree. It didn't take much effort to keep the output of my chakra constant, since I was used to much more gruelling chakra control tasks, but tree climbing also took more chakra than some of those other exercises. That was mostly because you were directly fighting against gravity and attempting to balance your weight against the forces pulling against you. I imagined it probably grew harder, and thus required slightly more chakra, the greater one's mass. Plus, there was the problem of molding chakra in the coils in one's feet, though I'd never had much trouble with that aspect. I stopped at the highest branch, walking along it and settling down, my legs dangling, and the cutest smile I could muster plastered across my face.

"Woah…Yume-chan, that was awesome!" Naruto cheered from below, grinning broadly. Sasuke was inspecting the tree next to mine with sudden interest, as if he wanted to attempt to make his way up right at that moment.

"Adorable," Kakashi-sensei deadpanned, and I glared at him again as he turned to Sasuke and Naruto and handed them two kunai from his pouch. ' _I'm physically thirteen, I'm still in the cute phase, you damn jerk! I'll show you!_ '

"You're going to need to gather chakra to the bottom of your feet to climb the tree," He began, both boys suddenly paying the utmost attention to him. I tuned him out, staring out over the clearing and swinging my feet back and forth.

' _Why does he push my buttons so quickly? Well, besides the fact that he's got who knows how many years of practice messing with people...Yeah, OK, that's probably how. No tight feeling lately though. Maybe it went away with exposure to him? Izumi, what do you think?_ '

No response, not that I'd been expecting any. I sighed and looked up at the sky, the lightest wisps of clouds beginning to drift across it.

I was jolted from my reverie at the sound of cracking wood, and glanced over to see a large hole about halfway up one of the trees, a slash mark just above it and a panting Sasuke below, glaring up at the mark. Naruto was currently clutching his head and whimpering on the ground beside him, as if he'd hit it on the way down.

"Well…that's one way of doing it," Kakashi-sensei said, his classic orange book out as he lounged under my tree. "Now, Sasuke-kun, where do you think you went wrong?"

"Too much chakra," He panted, frowning down at the kunai in his hands. "I need to use less, but not so little that I fall off like Naruto did."

"Good," Kakashi said, and waved a hand at the boys to continue, not taking his eye off the pages in front of him for a second. I rolled my eyes and jumped off my branch, hopping to the next and the next before I landed on the ground, using my chakra to absorb any force from the landing.

"Do you guys want some help?" I offered, moving over as I flashed through hand signs and placed my hand on Naruto's head, swiftly healing the bump he'd managed to obtain after his fall. It had already begun to heal by the time I reached it, I had just sped it along.

"Maybe later," Sasuke replied, taking off at a run for the tree and making it right up to where he'd gotten last time before he was suddenly slipping and jumped off. He flipped through the air, landing in a crouch, and glaring again at the marginally wider mark he'd made overtop the original.

"Thanks for healing me, Yume-chan," Naruto said brightly, jumping to his feet, and palming the kunai he'd been given again. "I want to try a couple more times before I ask for advice, though." With that, he began running for the tree next to Sasuke's, and I shook my head in amusement as he made it a quarter of the way up before he was suddenly flinging himself backwards, having made his mark after he lost control and began to slip.

"Sensei, do you mind if I go work on water walking on the stream?" I asked, turning to him. "I can mostly do it on a still pond, but I want to see if I can handle moving water."

"Try not to fall in," He said, flipping to another page, and I huffed in irritation before turning and moving over to the stream. I heard a giggle from behind me and immediately scowled. I needed to burn those books, sooner rather than later.

I walked over to the burbling stream that cut through the training grounds, the sunlight overhead glinting across it. It was decently large, about five meters across at this point, and I crouched down to dip a finger in. I yanked it out almost immediately, because **Holy shit, cold**. It was late March now, so I wasn't sure what I'd been expecting, especially after my experience yesterday. Sighing, I hastily unclipped my pouches and my tantou and set them to the side. If I fell in, I'd prefer it if only my clothes got wet this time. I had an extra change in my storage scroll, an addition to the seals after yesterday.

I carefully drew chakra to my feet, creating the equivalent of little chakra discs below them, and put one foot out over the water, the other still balanced on shore. One of the easiest methods to keep oneself afloat was to make sure that the density of one's chakra was lower than the density of the water below. You also needed to bond your chakra to the molecules in the water below you, to anchor it and prevent yourself from losing your balance. That applied to both still and moving water, but the issue with moving water was that one needed to constantly be correcting for the flow of the water to stay in one place, or else you'd simply just be dragged along for a ride. I'd also heard things about surface tension and some more advanced physics, but I liked my own method for now.

I spent about five minutes practicing with one foot till I felt confident enough to put the other out, almost immediately compensating for my full weight as I did so. As I felt the water moving below me, my chakra responding and rapidly attaching and detaching itself to the flow so that I remained in one position, I couldn't help but smile. I had thought this was cool when I'd finally managed it on the koi pond at home, but doing it on a moving surface of water was even better. Things like this had been impossible in my former world, so suddenly being able to do these amazing, magical things still blew my mind on occasion. There was still even more left for me to learn and do though, so many different techniques and abilities I was just waiting to get a chance at.

' _You're a wizard, Yumeko._ ' I giggled quietly at the thought, and shakily took a step forward. It was a little bit more difficult to immediately compensate for the change in position, but I managed it. I kept up a tight focus as I slowly made my way across the stream, turning back and moving a bit faster the second time. When I still hadn't fallen in, I grinned and proceeded to start jogging across the surface, running through some of my taijutsu katas as I did so. I was halfway tempted to try skating, but I'd never been very good at it in my past life and the brief spike of fear at the thought shut it down almost immediately.

I wasn't certain how much time had passed as I practiced water walking, but eventually I heard Naruto's familiar voice calling my name. I turned, stopping the kick-punch-kick combination I'd been working on, to see him waving from the shore banks, grinning brightly. I'd also been thinking as I practiced, attempting to make plans for the chuunin exams that were coming up. I still wanted to protect Grandpa, but unlike when I'd been younger and could just throw ANBU at the problem, there was far more nuance to the issue this time around. I shook my head, clearing it of thoughts of Orochimaru, before I made my way over, stopping on the edge to secure my pouches and weapons again as I spoke.

"What's up?" I said, and Naruto's grin grew sheepish.

"Sensei says we're going to report in and get a mission soon, but I was wondering if you could give me some advice on the tree climbing technique first," He replied, and I glanced overhead at the position of the sun. ' _Huh…it's 2 o'clock already? I didn't even notice. Of course, frantically coming up with and discarding plans about a certain rogue Sannin could make anyone lose track of time._ '

"Sure, no problem. How far up the tree have you gotten?" I asked, linking my arm with his as we walked over to where he and Sasuke had been practicing.

"I'm almost halfway up!" Naruto said, and then frowned. "Sasuke's still further ahead than me though."

"He's got more practice with chakra control than you," I replied, bumping his shoulder in reassurance. "Remember, he did some more advanced versions of the leaf sticking exercise so that he could learn his family's fire ninjutsu."

"Yeah, I know," Naruto grumbled, looking up at where Sasuke was still running at his tree, even though I could tell he'd used up about three quarters of his reserves in the past three or so hours. He and Sasuke were best friends, but they still had a rather friendly rivalry going on. Each of them had their own specialties, like Naruto with fuuinjutsu and Sasuke with his family's genjutsu, but in regard to ninjutsu and taijutsu they were relatively even. It helped that, instead of being dead last, Naruto had gotten private tutoring from Ebisu-sensei with me, and Itachi and Shisui when they could spare the time.

Naruto was thus far more advanced than he'd been at this point in canon, so he and Sasuke were at about the same level. It frustrated them both on occasion, because they both wanted to be the very best ( _like no one ever was_ ), but had this other person that they knew really well who was almost the same in terms of ability. It pushed them both to new heights when it came to training, or so I'd noticed. I was just glad that they got along well enough that their rivalry wasn't interfering with their friendship.

"At least you didn't break your tree," I said, pointing out the differences among the two tree trunks now that was I standing below them. Even though Naruto had much more chakra than Sasuke, his control was so lacking that he'd not caused any breaks in the tree trunk. Sasuke, in addition to the original one I'd been here for, had managed to create about three more in the time that I'd been practicing water walking. Two of them were almost overlapping, the third all the way down the trunk, like he'd suddenly lost concentration and expelled too much chakra, and the fourth was just below the highest mark he'd managed to make, two thirds of the way up the tree.

"Yeah, yeah, that's true!" Naruto cheered, moving over and patting the tree trunk like it was an old friend. I smiled slightly and heard the impact of Sasuke landing beside us again, making a frustrated noise before he collapsed backwards on the grass.

"Have you guys just been running at the trees this whole time?" I asked, glancing over to where Kakashi-sensei was still reading his book. He'd noticed I'd moved back though, because his one visible eye had momentarily looked over and winked at me before going back to his reading. So, he must have been spectacularly unhelpful with the boys then. Probably on purpose, to get them to be less stubborn about asking for help.

"Basically," Sasuke panted, glancing over at me. I pulled out my storage scroll and unsealed a water bottle, handing it to him. He took it with a nod of thanks and sat up a little to start downing it.

"Well, it might be easier if you went about it more slowly," I said. "Like, gather your chakra to your feet and test it against the tree trunk before you make your way up. That way, you can adjust the output as necessary and find a good balance before you start climbing. It might take longer to get to the top of the tree, and you'll have to spend some time practicing moving at different speeds to get accustomed to those too, but it's probably still better. Running works well because once you've mastered quickly moving up the tree, slower speeds come more easily."

Naruto was looking at me like I'd just given him the sagest of advice, and I rolled my eyes and gently pushed him towards the tree trunk to try it. Sasuke got up as well, handing me back the now empty bottle, and made his way to his own trunk to try the other method. I watched carefully, resealing it and getting ready to try and catch one of them should they fall, but my method appeared to have been all they needed to slowly make their way up to the first set of stable branches. They weren't at the top yet, but it was progress. It helped that they'd been practicing for a while before, and I smiled proudly as they settled onto the branches, grinning at each other.

"Well done," Kakashi-sensei said, clapping slowly as he got to his feet, his book tucked away again. "Of course, this is one of the most basic chakra control exercises for genin to master..." The way he trailed off and his deadpan tone had both of my boys twitching in the trees above and I had to struggle to not start snickering. OK, so it was funnier when he did it to other people.

"To the Administration Center then?" I asked, and he nodded as Sasuke and Naruto carefully walked back down the trees. Naruto was watching the back of Sensei's head contemplatively as we began to walk out of the training grounds, a mischievous glint in his eyes. I didn't particularly want to know what he was planning.

It took us maybe twenty minutes to walk over from our training grounds. There were a lot more people out at this time of the day, packing the streets as they moved around on their daily business, laughing and talking and just overall seeming cheery. As we walked people would occasionally call out greetings to me, and I had to put my 'people' smile in place and struggle to remember who most of them even were. Mama was much better at it than I was, but I got along as best as I could. They honestly just seemed happy to be greeted in response, like it was a big deal to be remembered by name.

Sensei had his book out again as we moved, using it as a shield against human contact and socialization as we progressed. Nobody even gave him a second look at that, but they did seem surprised by the three of us trooping along behind him. I guess it made sense, as Kakashi had never taken a genin team before and was notoriously anti-social.

"Does he always walk around with that out?" Sasuke asked me quietly, and I nodded.

"With what out?" Sensei said, turning back to glance at us momentarily, feigning confusion.

"That perverted book!" Naruto snapped, dancing around to the front of the formation and gesturing at the orange cover.

"Icha Icha is a work of art," Sensei replied, sounding offended, and I rolled my eyes.

"Jiraiya-san wrote it. That immediately makes that statement suspicious," I said.

"Yumeko-chan!" A familiar voice called out, interrupting whatever Sasuke had been about to add as I felt a body slam into me from behind, their arms wrapping around my neck and a laugh bursting out of them as I stumbled forward a step.

"Ino-chan!" I cried, grinning as I disengaged from her and turned to hug the girl in response. There was some girlish shrieking from the both of us as we loudly began to catch up, even though we'd seen each other two days ago, which had Sasuke making a strategic retreat behind Kakashi-sensei at the noise and Naruto gaping at us.

"Troublesome. Ino, everyone's staring," Shikamaru grumbled, slouching up to us, a beaming Chouji eating out of a bag of chips beside him. I waved at them in response instead of saying anything, causing Shikamaru to roll his eyes in amusement.

"Ino-chan." Uncle Asuma's reprimanding voice was all the warning we got before Ino was having her ponytail gently tugged on, and she immediately whirled around to start admonishing him. He had a lit cigarette in his mouth and ignored Ino in favour of nodding a greeting to Kakashi-sensei.

"Asuma," He nodded in response. "I see your team is…loud."

"Just Ino-chan," Asuma replied, reaching out to ruffle her hair, causing the girl in question to make an irritated shrieking noise as she batted his hands away and began attempting to fix her hair. I giggled happily, reaching out and assisting, honestly just glad to see the three of them. After spending so much time with the ten of us (eleven when Neji was around) being attached at the hip, it felt weird to go even two days without seeing them. "You have Naruto-kun and my niece though. I think you're probably worse off." Naruto and I both made offended noises at that as Sensei nodded sagely.

"Yes, I'd noticed. You're not supposed to use muzzles on children, right? I'm going to have to come up with something else." Naruto whirled and immediately began shouting about 'I'm not a dog, dattebayo!' and Ino, Chouji and I all started laughing.

"Can we please keep moving?" Sasuke ground out, peeking his head out from behind Sensei to glare at the lot of us, and I grinned unrepentantly. I skipped forward, snagging Naruto's arm in one hand and dragged him forward to link my other arm with one of Sasuke's. He let out a long-suffering sigh but let me move them both forward, Ino tagging along just behind us and asking Naruto about what his plans were for Sakura's birthday present. The rest of our group trudged along after, Sensei and Asuma falling to the back of the column to discuss something or other.

We reached the Administration Center about a minute later, making our way to the Main Mission Desk on the first floor. There was a Jounin exclusive mission center on one of the upper floors, and ANBU had their own mission center in their base somewhere within the village. I wasn't sure if their base's location had ever been covered in the manga, but if it had I most definitely didn't remember it anymore.

The room was packed, other groups of older genin and their jounin instructors already waiting for assignments, some random genin corps members and several groups of chuunin, based on their vests, filling up the rest of the area. Grandpa was seated at the head of the room behind a long table covered in paperwork, several chuunin seated on either side of him. Said chuunin seemed to be constantly in motion, fluttering around with paperwork and updating the large board at the front of the room as missions were assigned or reported in as completed.

Our groups had arrived for the afternoon section of mission time, as training teams were divided into two different time slots in regard to training and missions. Half of them were given mornings to train, and then expected to come in and complete at least one D-rank mission, or be assigned a C-rank mission if they were more experienced, to finish the day. The other half had missions in the morning and training in the afternoon. I didn't sense Kiba, Hinata or Shino anywhere in the crowd, so I was pretty sure they belonged to the morning group.

Our two groups lined up, Kakashi-sensei only just managing to keep an excited Naruto from literally bouncing off the walls. Shikamaru was eyeing him, keeping his distance beside Uncle Asuma, as Naruto almost vibrated in place. Ino was having a serious discussion with Sasuke about some criminal in one of the older bingo books she'd apparently lent him when he asked, both ignoring what was going on behind them. Chouji and I were just watching Kakashi-sensei try to silently corral Naruto without looking like he actually cared, wordlessly sharing his bag of chips as we watched the entertainment.

"Naruto, you know that we're probably not going to get anything more exciting than babysitting, right?" I finally asked, taking pity on Sensei, and he turned to me with a frightening gleam in his eyes. I took a step back as all his focus suddenly shifted to me, everyone else moving carefully away as Naruto suddenly appeared before me.

"I know, I know, but we're finally going to be real shinobi! D-ranks are just the first step, 'dattebayo! Once we breeze through these, then we get to go on C-ranks, then when we make chuunin we're gonna go on B-ranks, and then next thing you know I'm going to be Hokage!" He shouted, and I immediately clapped a hand over his mouth as people turned to look at us.

"Maa, Naruto-kun, it doesn't go exactly like that," Kakashi-sensei tried to point out, but I was suddenly yanked forward as I struggled to keep my hand on Naruto's mouth as he whirled around and immediately began a muffled tirade. "All right, never mind. That's exactly how it goes." From what I could sense, his chakra was baffled and a little overwhelmed. He definitely wasn't used to interacting with anyone as hyperactive as Naruto. I wasn't sure anyone could be prepared for prolonged exposure to him.

"Team 10!" A harried sounding voice called out, and we realized that we'd managed to get to the front of the line while Naruto had distracted us. Ino stepped forward imperiously, hand out, as the chuunin began shuffling through papers, Grandpa looking pleased as he watched us.

"Naruto-kun, you seem to be in a good mood today," He said, leaning forward and propping his chin on his hands, his pipe dangling from one of them. Naruto nodded enthusiastically, and I carefully removed my hand once it looked like he wasn't about to explode with sound again.

"Yumeko-chan, you're officially in charge of wrangling," Kakashi-sensei said, clapping a hand on my shoulder, and I gave him a despairing look as Sasuke snorted in amusement. The bastard had his eye closed and crinkled at the corner like he was beaming at me, and I pouted as I turned back to face the front desk.

"Thanks for the mission," Uncle Asuma said, almost grinning at the crestfallen looks on Chouji and Shikamaru's face and the triumphant look on Ino's. It looked like she'd picked their first D-rank, and knowing her she'd picked something there was no way for her teammates to get out of doing. They made their way out of the thinning crowd, and then it was our turn.

"Well, Team 7, there are three D-rank missions you could probably handle," Grandpa said, a twinkle in his eyes as he took over for the chuunin who'd been helping Team 10.

"We'll handle anything you throw at us, Gramps! Just you wait and see!" Naruto boomed, and I winced at the volume.

"Indoor voice, Naruto!" I hissed at him. "Are you trying to become another Gai-san?" He turned around, spluttering in denial, as we both knew exactly who the real miniature Gai-san was.

"What are the missions, Hokage-sama?" Sasuke gritted out, stepping forward and between us before we could start actually arguing.

"For a rookie genin team, I have a babysitting job, a gardening job, or a construction job," He said, and I could see the twitch at the corner of his lips as he struggled not to laugh at the sight of me having placed Naruto in a headlock to get him to shut up. He was still struggling and whining, no longer at top volume though, so it was starting to work at least. I wasn't going to hit him, not like Sakura would have if this had been canon, but either me or Sasuke wrestling with him a little bit usually helped calm Naruto down. I didn't mind; it was honestly kind of fun to get caught up in his rhythm on occasion. We'd both stilled at the sound of the available missions though, our eyes meeting, and burst out in unison before Kakashi-sensei or Sasuke could speak.

" _Gardening!_ " We shouted, disengaging, and darting forward to the front of the table, hands held out for the mission scroll. The chuunin, who'd still been sitting there just letting Grandpa speak, leapt backward in surprise with an undignified squeak. Grandpa let out a bark of laughter at that, rummaging through the papers in front of him and pulling out the requisite scroll.

"Of course," Sasuke grumbled, rolling his eyes, but I could tell that Kakashi-sensei was baffled at our enthusiastic response. To be honest, I was only picking gardening because watching Naruto work with plants was a treasure. He got so into it, frolicking through the dirt and coaxing plants to life through his own brand of wild energy and magic, that sometimes I wondered if he wasn't actually part woodland fairy or nymph or something. Grandpa tossed the scroll to Kakashi-sensei, who easily caught it, saluted a quick greeting to him, and herded the three of us out of the office. ' _If all of our days are going to be like this, I could get used to it._ '

(Why did I have to jinx it?)


End file.
